Hey everyone, okay so no note here, just read on. Enjoy!
Chapter 15: My Fake Boyfriend part II
Chris ran towards the corner the others were hiding earlier, but turned around and headed back towards the lobby. As he passed Melissa, she laughed at him and then he quickly disappeared through the stairway. The second he reached the landing, he took the door to the left and sprinted to the team, who were already waiting on the field. As they reached the others, Wesker emerged from the east exit.
"You don't know how lucky you are." Joseph said.
"Yeah…tell…me…about…it." Chris said, as he inhaled rather hard so that he could catch his breath.
"All right now that everyone is here," Wesker said as he reached the team, "we can start. Give me a mile, preferably under 7. After that, we'll go into our infiltrating routine and all the other good stuff." Wesker grinned. "Well let's get going! What are you waiting for? Morning?"
They didn't need another warning before they took off with Chris making up the rear. Joseph slowed down and ran with Chris. "So who is she and what's your relation?" He asked.
"She's Chris' girlfriend" Rebecca yelled from the front of them.
"Girlfriend? Wow." Joseph said.
"Yeah, if he likes sluts." Jill said and ran a little faster.
"What the hell is you're problem?" Chris asked. Rebecca and Joseph shrugged. Chris then ran up to catch up with Jill for an answer. "What's going on? Have I offended you in some way?"
She didn't answer and instead, ran faster. Chris tailed her, waiting for her reply. Nearly out of breath and extremely tired, Chris managed to level with her. "Jill."
"It's nothing Chris, don't worry about it." Jill said with ease and sped up. In fact, she was practically sprinting down the trail!
"Damn that woman." Chris thought, seeing that he doesn't have the energy to say it out loud. He too, broke out in a sprint and soon caught up with Jill. She turned to her left and saw him grinning at her. She got irritated from it and continued to run faster but Chris seemed to be keeping up. The two of them were running, racing practically, leaving the rest of the team a couple of feet back.
"Damn! How the hell is Chris doing that? He was practically out of breath when he came down and he smokes like a chimney. Maybe I should start smoking, but it doesn't matter, I don't like running anyways." Joseph said to Barry and Rebecca.
Their mile was up and they all managed to finish under the time limit, even Rebecca, but just barely. Chris didn't go directly to Jill for an answer. Instead he walked around a bit so his heart rate would slow down. "Here." Barry handed Chris a cup of ice-cold water. As he put the cup to his lips to gulp that bad boy down, Jill splashed his face with her water.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!"Chris yelled, now drenched in sweat and Jill's water. Rebecca and the others started to laugh, while Jill kept a straight face.
"You shouldn't drink the water otherwise you'll throw up and you could die." Jill said and took the cup full of water that Chris was holding and took a sip.
"Isn't that a little too extreme?" Joseph asked but no one answered him.
"You didn't have to throw your water at me." Chris said calmly as Jill took another sip and then flung the rest of her water to him. "What the?" He stood there dumbfounded.
"Cool off." Jill smiled and walked away.
Joseph walked up to him and rested his elbow on his shoulder while he held his cup in the other hand. "Isn't she great?"
"The best." Chris said sarcastically.
"Whoa, Chris, did it rain out there?" Wesker asked.
"No sir. Jill just…got carried away." Chris told him.
"Well then…" Wesker said and flung his water at Chris. "Might as well jump on the bandwagon." Jill stood behind him with a humongous smile on her face. Chris looked at her and thought about this whole ordeal. He found it silly and smiled in return but it immediately turned into a surprised expression when more water trickled down his face.
"Thought you could use more water to rinse out all that gel in your hair." Joseph laughed as he held a cup of water over his head.
"I'm not wearing gel."
"Maybe you need more water to get it to stick again." Rebecca said.
"I swear, if you toss me your water, you'll never hear the end of it." Chris said as he ran his hands through his hair and slicked it back.
"Hey Chris, now that you're all washed out, you don't have to take a shower when you get home." Barry teased.
"Ha-ha." Chris said rather dryly.
"All right, let's get a move on." Wesker said. They went on with their usual training and before long, they were finally finished and it was time to go home. They all returned to the locker room to change out of their icky uniforms, especially Chris.
"Hey Chris, I'm sorry about earlier." Jill said from her end of the lockers.
"It's fine, I'm not crying over it, but I do hope you enjoyed throwing your water at me."
"I had a blast, thanks. Hey maybe we could do it again sometime." She joked.
"Only if I get to do the throwing." He laughed. "You met her. You should know she's really nice." Chris said out of the blue.
"Yeah." Jill said. "Well, I'm gonna go now. I'm really tired and I'd like a nice bath before I hit the sack. I'm so glad I have short hair now. It's much easier and faster to dry."
"Yeah." Chris said as he gathered his bag together.
"Bye everyone." Jill yelled and got some responses from the other side. "Oh Chris, before I forget, can I have your number? It'll be weird if I didn't know my 'boyfriend's' number." She laughed.
"Yeah." He laughed and gave her his new number.
"So that's were you live now?"
"Yep. It's a great place. You're welcome to stop by anytime, after all, you are my girlfriend." Chris said.
"Right. Okay, bye." She said and left. It wasn't long till she reached her place. Once inside her apartment, she went straight to the bath. After her soothing bath, she dried her hair and fell asleep as soon as her head reached her pillow.
On Chris' way home, he felt his phone ring from inside of his pocket. He pulled over and answered it. "Yeah?" He answered.
"What did I tell you about the way you answer your phone?"
"Claire, hey what's up?"
"Well, I called your place and they said you no longer live there. So when did you plan on telling me that?"
"I just moved, I got evicted, okay! And I planned on telling you after I wake up today." Chris said as he yawned.
"What do you mean 'wake up today?' Aren't you already awake, unless I'm talking to a machine."
"I just got off work."
"At seven!"
"Yeah. Listen, I'm really beat so I'll call you later."
"Wait, I just called to tell you that I'm not going to drive there, I'm taking a plane so pick me up."
"Okay, pack light cause all I have is a bike for transportation. And before I forget, here's my new number." Chris said and gave it to her.
"Alright, see you Saturday. My plane comes in at 5 in the afternoon. Bye."
"Bye." Chris hung up his phone and put it back in his jacket. He checked to see if it was clear and pulled back into the street and rode home. Once arriving, he immediately fell asleep on his couch.
-Saturday Afternoon-
Ring, ring… Chris woke up and fell off his couch and almost on Boo. "Damn it!" He cursed. He got up and dragged himself to answer his ringing phone. "What?"
"Jeez, whatever happened to phone courtesy?"Jill asked.
"What!" Chris asked.
"Nothing. Anyways, Sam and Co. have arrived this morning and they are apparently staying here, much to my dismay. Right now, the 'co.' are getting some Z's in the guest room and…"
"What?" Chris asked,"Jill, I can't hear you."
"Hold on. Let me get out on my balcony so I can stop whispering."Jill said, "Okay so they've arrived and I just wanted to let you know. We are going to have dinner at Mancini's at 6:00"
"Oh crud. Jill, my sister's plane arrives at five. I can't and won't leave her there. Can you reschedule for seven or something?" Chris asked.
"Okay yeah sure. Seven is fine too. So I'll see you then, bye."Jill said and hung up.
-Jill's Apartment-
"So Jill, who was that?" Sam asked.
"It was Chris. I was just letting him know what time dinner is."
"Is this the Chris that you constantly fight with?" She asked.
"Umm…uh-huh."
"So did he come out of his shell and ask you out?" Sam asked.
"Uh…we need to talk." Jill said and pulled her into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. "Okay, Chris is not my boyfriend. I just asked him to pretend so it won't look like I'm still hung over him." Jill said as the running water masked their conversation.
"I thought you did?"
"Yeah, but he might not know that! Anyways, don't you say a word! This is all your fault for inviting them!"
"I didn't invite them! I told Nat I was going to visit you and she insisted she come along and then that idiot tagged along! I couldn't lie to her…I already lie so much in the courtroom!"
"Whatever Sam, just don't tell. I want to make him so jealous." She smirked.
"I'm sure you will. I think he's tagged along to spite you. But in any case, I won't tell… just as long as you get me a date for the evening. I don't want to feel like the 'third' leg and alone." She smiled, "And he better be cute."
"Okay…but I don't know many people here…Ooo, Richard, he's sweet, nice and go…"
"Whatever Jill, just arrange it." Sam said and exited the bathroom. Jill followed after she turned off the faucet. Then she decided to call Richard.
"Hey Rich, this is Jill. I was wondering if you're busy tonight?" Jill asked.
"Well as a matter of fact, the guys and I were going to drink and I don't know what's gonna go down from there."Richard said.
"Oh, hmm."
"Why Jill, what's up?"
"I was going to ask if you could be my friend Sam's date for the evening."
"Sam's a girl right?"
"Of course she's a girl."
"I don't know Jill."
"Aw come on Rich. It'll be fun."
"Fine, just as long as she's buck-tooth, cross-eyed and has yellow teeth and bad breath. I'm always the unfortunate one and I want it to stay like that."Richard said sarcastically.
"Don't worry Rich, it'll be fine. Dinner is at seven at Mancini's. Would you like me to pick you up since your place is on the way there?" Jill asked.
"Okay sure that would be great. I'll see you then." Richard said and hung up.
"Alright Sammy, it's all set up." Jill said as Sam smiled at her from behind the newspaper.
-Saturday Afternoon, 4:30-
Chris was at home looking for his keys. He needed to leave to the airport to get Claire. "Where the hell are my keys!" Chris yelled as he searched his place. He then heard a strange combination of plastic cracking and keys jingling. He turned around to find Boo chewing on his keys. "Boo! NO! BAD!" Chris yelled and took his keys out of his mouth. "Bad!" Chris said as he examined his mangled keychain. He then grabbed his jacket and walked out. The airport was about thirty minutes away but he managed to make there in twenty-five minutes. As soon as he got there, he heard over the PA that the flight has just arrived. As he reached arrival terminal, he immediately spotted his sister. "Claire!" Chris hugged his sister.
"Hey big bro. How've you been?" Claire asked.
"Okay. So baggage claim?"
"Nope, I'm all set." Claire said as she pointed to her backpack. "You said pack light and besides, I'm only going to be here for the weekend and I could always buy stuff." She smiled and they proceeded out of the airport. "So, what're we going to do tonight?" She asked.
"Aw crap. Claire, I forgot to tell you but I promised a friend a favor and it's really important to her. I hope you don't mind."
"Does this friend happen to be this girl, Jill" Claire asked.
"Yeah. Okay, I'm not going to lie to you, she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend and I agreed."
"Are you just doing this so you can be with her?" Claire asked.
"What? No. I already have come to terms with myself that she's off limits. I just felt sorry for her. She was so desperate she was going to ask Wesker."
Claire started to laugh, "What a dumb bitch." She continued to laugh. "So this is just for tonight right? We can hang out tomorrow?"
"Uh yeah, sure why not." Chris said, "Come let's go. You need to check out my new place. And I have to get ready otherwise I'll be late." He said as he carried Claire's backpack. They got home and Claire was amazed with his puppy rather that his new place.
"Ooo, a puppy!" She said and went to greet him.
"His name is Boo." Chris smiled. "Well just make yourself at home. I have to take a shower and get ready." Chris said and entered.
Claire picked up Boo and decided to look around and found a room…that happened to be hers. "Wow. I have my own balcony!" She squealed, "Ooo, big closet." She said and opened it up "Ugh, empty." She exited her room and on her way to the kitchen she heard someone knocking on the door. She looked in the peephole and saw a woman in front. "Yes?" She asked as she opened the door.
"Oh, um is Chris here?" She asked and at the same time Chris emerged from his room all dressed in dress.
"Claire, I look stupid, tell me I look…Melissa!" Chris stopped dead in his tracks.
"Hi." She said, while Claire just stood there smiling.
"What are you doing here? I mean come in." Chris said.
"I just thought I'd stop by to give you this. You forgot it in my office." She smiled and handed him the papers.
"Oh, yeah thanks, thought I lost it." Chris said as he accepted the papers. "Um, this is my sister Claire. Claire, this is Melissa Le Croix. She found this place for me and I think, I think we're seeing each other."
"Yeah, we're just…you know…just…just..."
"You guys are weird, I don't even want to know." Claire said and plopped on the sofa and turned on the T.V.
"Your sister is cool." Melissa said.
"Thanks. I think I'm cool too. And Chris, lose the tie. You look gay." Claire said.
"Thanks Claire." Chris said and took off his tie. "What am I supposed to do now?" Chris asked. Melissa then reached for his shirt and unbuttoned the first two buttons. "What're you…what're you…" Chris stuttered.
"Relax, I'm giving you a casual, yet proper look." She looked him up and down. "You wouldn't happen to have boot cut jeans would you?" She asked.
"Uh, I think so, why?" Chris asked.
"Change into those." She said.
"Okay." Chris went into his room and came back out a minute later.
"Well there you go, all done and you still look sharp. Well, I'm just gonna go now, read a book at home or something."
"Wait…uh, what kind of shoes should I wear?" He asked.
"Seriously, my brother can't dress himself. Chris, you should subscribe to GQ magazine." Claire laughed.
"Um…you can wear dress shoes…or sneakers that look dressy. Just no Converse or skating shoes." She said.
"Okay, wait first." Chris went back into his room to pick out shoes.
"Oh hey, Melissa right? Wanna go somewhere since my brother is ditching his sister and quote, un-quote girlfriend? We could get acquainted." Claire offered.
"Okay sure…sounds like fun." Melissa said as she waited for Chris.
"How are these?" He came out wearing black shoes that could be worn dressy or worn down.
"Perfect. Ready to go Claire?" She smiled.
"Yeah, let me get my jacket." Claire said.
"Hey, where are you two going?" Chris asked.
"Talk about you." Claire smiled.
"Not fair."
"Chris, don't wear your helmet, unless you want helmet hair." Claire said, "Bye Boo. I'll see you later." She said and they both left.
"Have…fun…" Chris said at the closed door. He then looked at his watch that read seven o'clock. "Shit!" Chris cursed and ran back into his room, fixed his hair quickly and grabbed his wallet and keys and bolted out the door.
-Mancini's-
"Sorry I didn't properly introduce you Rich, but this is Sam." Jill said.
"Hi." He held up his hand.
"Wow, you're tall." She said.
"Thanks."
"Um, I didn't mean it as a compliment." Sam said. Jill's eyes widened at her response. Dean snickered while Natalie stood there quietly.
"Well…your hair is out of place and you have lipstick on your teeth." Richard said. Jill's eyes widened even more and her jaw dropped.
"I like this guy. I like that he fights back." Sam said. "Sorry about that Richard."
"It's no problem. I like a girl who can take criticism. And you don't have lipstick on your teeth." He smiled.
"You're good." She smiled.
"Where the hell is he? Rich, what time do you have?" Jill asked as they waited outside the restaurant.
"Don't worry Jill. If Chris says he'll be here, then he will." Richard reassured her.
"Hey Jill, so where's this boyfriend of yours? I'm beginning to think you made him up. I mean, you've only been here for a couple of days and you already have a boyfriend? But then again, you are a fast worker." Dean said.
"What? Me a fast worker? Excuse me but at least I wasn't unfaithful to my boyfriend. If I were you, I wouldn't trust this guy." Jill said to Natalie.
"I got tired of waiting for your ass, so I went for the next best thing." Dean said.
"So if Natalie refused your proposal would you have cheated on her?" Dean kept quiet. "Why are you even here?" Jill asked, "You could've sent an invitation or something informing me of your engagement, but then again, it's not like I was gonna go in the first place."
"Oh don't break my heart." He countered.
"Stop already." Natalie told Dean, "I'm so sorry Jill."
"No, I'm sorry for you because you have to marry that. And don't worry Nat, I still love you." Jill smiled sincerely.
"Well now, Mr. Redfield's timing couldn't be impeccable." Richard pointed out at an incoming motorcycle with a nicely dressed man riding it.
Chris rode to the front where they were all waiting and surprised Jill by handing her a single red rose. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's okay." Jill smiled as she accepted the rose. Chris smiled in return and went to park his bike.
"Wow, Mr. GQ, he is hot. Where did you find him?" Sam asked Apparently, Jill wasn't listening. She was too busy staring at the rose and wondering why Chris had opted to make that kind of an 'entrance.' "Jill?" Sam called.
"Yeah?" Jill asked, snapping back to reality.
"Nothing." Sam smiled.
"So Dean, still think I made him up?" Jill gloated in his face.
"Whatever." Dean said in a rather spiteful tone.
"Oh my Dean, that's not jealousy I'm sensing, is it? No offense Nat." Sam said.
"None taken." She understood how Sam and Jill felt about Dean, but didn't care.
"Why the hell why would I be jealous of…that." Dean said. As they watched Chris approach, he tripped but quickly caught himself and stood up. He looked at them and held his hands out and gestured them with an 'I don't know' look and proceeded onward.
"Hi." Chris greeted Jill with a kiss on her cheek.
"Chris, this is my best friend Sam and this is Dean and Natalie and I think you already know Richard. Everybody, this is Chris." Jill introduced and Chris shook their hands.
"Shall we?" Chris asked as he held the door open for Jill, but ended up holding the door for everyone.
"What are you doing here Rich?" Chris asked as Richard passed him by the door.
"I'm Sam's date." He smiled. "Having fun yet?" Richard asked.
"It's not that bad. But that Dean guy, does his face always look like that?"
"I don't know. He really is an awful guy." Richard said, "Well, let's just make the most of this dinner."
Much to Chris and Richard's surprise, they managed to have a decent dinner. They were all enjoying their dinner when Richard's phone rang. "Excuse me." Richard said and got up to answer it. He returned soon after with bad news. "I'm sorry but I have to go. I got a call from work and the Bravo team is needed for an operation that's about to go down in Central."
"What about the Alpha's" Chris asked with a look of concern on his face.
"No word. Boss just wants the Bravos. Bravos are always first. Um, I have to call Forest to pick me up."
"No, here, take my bike." Chris offered.
"But…but…no…I can't"
"Just do it. I trust you." Chris said.
"Thanks Chris, you're the best. Dean, Natalie, it was good to meet you. Sam, I had fun." Richard said and proceeded out.
"I'll walk you out." She said.
"Oh here." Richard handed his money to Chris.
"Don't worry about it." Chris said.
"Are you sure?" Richard asked.
"Just go Rich, good luck and keep sharp." Jill said.
"Thanks. Bye everyone." Richard said, and walked out with Sam following him.
As soon as Sam returned, the bill was paid and the remaining five left the restaurant.
"So where we going now?" Chris asked.
"Ooo, can we go to your place?" Jill asked.
"I just moved there and there's nothing much to do, but if that's what you want, then we can go." Chris said.
"That's fine with me." Sam said, while Dean and Natalie nodded. They didn't really care, considering that they're a bit tired.
"Honey can you drive? I'm really tired and my heels are killing me." Jill said as she leaned on Chris' shoulder for support.
Chris looks at her funny but decides to go on it. "Of course." He accepted the keys she held in front of them. They all pile into the car with Dean sitting ridiculously uncomfortably behind Chris' chair. Jill was enjoying every moment of it. While driving up to Windward Hills, Chris left his hand resting on the handbrake out of habit and Jill casually placed her hand over his. Chris looked at her with a raised eyebrow and Jill just smiled at him. Sam sees what's going on and has a smirk plastered on her face in the back seat.
Once inside Chris found that his sister wasn't back yet, but he was relieved that she wasn't because that could've meant that Melissa could be up too and that would have spelled disaster. Everybody entered and was immediately taken with Boo. "Yeah, that's my puppy, Boo." Chris said "Something to drink? Coffee?" Chris offered.
"Yeah." Everyone said.
"Okay, coffee it is." Chris said and disappeared into his kitchen. Jill and Sam followed behind and Chris emerged from the kitchen a second later. "I got kicked out of my own kitchen." Chris said and took seat on his lounger.
"Um Chris, do you have a bathroom I can use?" Natalie asked.
"Oh yeah, sure, it's just right through that door." He pointed.
"Thanks." She said and left for it.
"So…Boo…that's the name of your puppy, huh?" Dean said as he watched Boo chew a toy.
"Yeah."
"Don't you think it's a sissy name?" Dean asked.
"What! For your info, Jill named my dog and if you tell her that or anything to hurt her feelings, I will throw you off my balcony and I think we're high enough to cause damage." He smiled.
-Kitchen-
"Oh my god Jill! Dean just criticized your, I mean Chris' puppy's name and he said that if he said it in front of you or anything to hurt your feelings, he'd throw Dean off his balcony. He's really going the limits to make this thing believable." Sam said.
"Sam! You're supposed to be helping me, not eavesdropping." Jill said.
"You're right, sorry." Sam said.
"So he really said that?" Jill asked as she prepped the coffee tray.
"Yep." Sam and Jill emerged from the kitchen with the coffee and Natalie came out from the bathroom, breaking the tension between Chris and Dean. Everybody had their coffee and relaxed and talked a bit at Chris' place for about an hour when Jill suggested that they should go.
"Honey, it's late, I think we should go now." Jill said as she got up from Chris' chest.
"Why don't you give your keys to Sam and you stay here with me?" Chris asked.
"What?" Jill asked as though she were lost.
'Did I just say that out loud?' Chris thought. "Uh, yeah, I mean, you do have some of your clothes here. It makes sense." Chris said.
"You're so sweet," Jill said as she ran her hand down the side of face. "But I can't. I have an early appointment tomorrow and if I stay here, I don't think I'd make it."
"An appointment? You never mentioned anything about an appointment." Sam said.
"Gynecologist." Jill said.
"Ah." Sam said.
"Well, we really should get going." Jill said.
"Okay, I'll walk you out." Chris said. As they left his condo and headed towards the elevator, Claire came waltzing out of it.
"Oh hey Chris." Claire.
"Claire, hey. Oh everyone, this is my sister Claire. Claire, this is Sam, Dean, Natalie and you remember Jill." Chris said.
"Of course I remember her. How can I forget 'hunny-bear'?" Claire said sarcastically. Now she knew who this infamous Jill was, but seeing her didn't change the fact that she hated her for stealing her weekend with her brother. "Okay bye." Claire said and proceeded towards their place.
"Can you hold on for a sec.?" Chris asked them. They all nodded. "Claire!" Chris called and she stopped just around the corner. "Claire are you alone? Where's Melissa?" Chris asked, worried that she might just pop out of nowhere.
"Don't worry Chris, she dropped me off and left. She's not coming back. She's probably knocked out by now, considering how much she had to drink." Claire said.
"Wait, you made her drive home drunk? What the fuck is wrong with you Claire!" Chris said angrily.
"She wasn't drunk. And I'm not stupid to do that. I know what happened to mom and dad." Claire said and walked away.
Chris returned to the elevators where they waited. "Sorry about that. And I apologize for my sister's behavior." Chris said as he called for the elevator. It came up shortly and everyone got in. In a matter of seconds they reached the bottom floor and exited the building. Sam and co. walk ahead of Chris and Jill and so Jill unarms her car for them to get in. They do so and as they're all in, Jill turns to face Chris. "Kiss me." She tells him.
"What! No. You said no kissing." Chris said.
"Yeah I know, but forget it! Just kiss me already!" Jill said. The others in the car watched them through the window thinking they were saying they're good nights rather than arguing about kissing. From where they were watching, it really looked as though they were just talking.
"It's not in the contract! You wrote it!" Chris stated.
"Who cares about the contract? It's not even real! I drew a happy face for a seal for crying out loud! Just kiss me! They're gonna start wondering."
"You can't just break the rules in the end! That's just wrong!" Chris said.
"Rules are made to be broken. Just kiss me already so I can get out of here." Jill said.
"Fine!" Chris shut his eyes and smashed his lips onto Jill's. At first he was hesitant, but relaxed and soon enough they both responded. Everything looked natural.
-In the Car-
"So, how long have they been at it?" Sam asked as all three of them watched from inside the car. "I'm tired and I want to go."
"Hmm, about a thirty seconds, no, 31, 32…okay you get the point." Natalie said.
"This is crap, I'm going to honk the horn." Dean said. As he reached for it, Natalie pulled him back.
"Leave them alone! You should be happy that Jill is happy and that she has someone who cares for her." Natalie said.
"My thoughts exactly." Sam said.
-Walkway-
They finally break the kiss, but they stay close with their foreheads still touching and "Hmm…okay." Jill says, while absentmindedly playing with the hairs on the back of his head. Jill and Chris both feel confused about the whole thing. They look into each other's eyes, knowing that something erupted just then. As Jill moved in to kiss him once again to clarify the feeling, Chris tells her that her passengers are waiting. Jill gets upset about it, but she knows that they shouldn't. She nods and moves her hands from behind his head and rests them on his chest. She tippy-toes and kisses him on his cheek. "Walk me to my car?" She asks.
"Cool." Chris responded. He walked her to the car and opened the door for her and shuts it once she got in. She rolls down her window and tells him that she'll call him. He nods and leans in and kisses her on the forehead. They hear Dean scoff in from the backseat but they just ignore him. "Drive safely." He says. She nods and starts her car and drives off home.
Chris watched as her car disappeared in the distance. Feeling the chilly night air, he decides to call it a night and heads back up. Upon entering his apartment, he runs his head into a beam and repeatedly knocks it.
"Doing that won't make your brain cells come back you know." Claire said as she pops up from the couch with Boo in her arms.
"Claire! I thought you were asleep." Chris got startled.
"I was, until I heard you banging your head in." Claire said as she got up and headed towards the kitchen for a glass of water.
"Sorry about that. I'm just a little confused."
"Yeah, I would be too if I kissed a guy while I was seeing someone else." Claire said as she gulped down some water.
"You saw that!" Chris asked. She then walked to the couch and produced his night vision goggles.
"Where did you get those?" Chris asked as he snagged it away from her.
"In your closet where you keep the rest of your gear. It makes seeing everything extremely clear." She smiled. "So are you going to break up with Mel to be with Jill?" Claire asked, "Because quite frankly, I'm not too fond of Jill."
"Why? You don't even know her." Chris said.
"I have my reasons. Goodnight. Come on Boo." Claire called and he followed her into her room.
Thoughts were running through Chris' mind a mile a minute. He took a seat on his lounger to see if he can sort some of it out and maybe then he'd be able to go to sleep. In the middle of his thoughts, his phone rang. "Hello?" He answered but nobody responded. "Hello?" He said, but he realized that the phone was still ringing. It turns out his house phone wasn't the one that was ringing and his cell phone was. He put his cordless down and answered his cell. "Hello?"
"Chris, what the hell took you so long to answer?" Barry asked.
"Sorry, I picked up the wrong phone."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, I just have a lot on my mind, that's all. So what's up Barry?" Chris asked.
"I'm at work right now and I don't know if you've heard what's going, but it's not looking good. Wesker ordered the Bravo team to pull out because they were out numbered and we don't want any casualties."
"Is everyone alright?" Chris asked eagerly.
"Yeah, everyone is alright. Some look a little shaken, but they'll live. Anyways, Wesker gave me the call here in the office to assemble the Alpha team so report ASAP."
"Alright, I'll be in." Chris said and hung up. He ran into his room and changed into his fatigues. After he gathered all his things, he searched for his keys, but then he remembered that he loaned Richard his bike. "Son of a bitch! How the hell am I gonna get to work!" He yelled. Just then, his telephone rang. "Hello?" Chris answered.
"Chris, its Jill. I take it you've been informed, yah? Anyways, I called to see if you needed a ride, seeing that Richard has your only vehicle."
"Ah, Jill, perfect timing. That would be great, thanks. I owe you one." He said.
"You don't owe me anything. I'll be there in five minutes."
"Five minutes?" Chris asked.
"I'm on the road."Jill said.
"Alright then, I'll be waiting outside. Bye." They both hung up and as Chris was leaving, Claire stepped out of her room.
"Going on a late night favor-date?" Claire asked.
"What? NO! I have to go to work. We were just summoned and I don't know when I'll get back so just sit tight."
"Sorry for assuming." Claire said sympathetically.
"Don't sweat it. I'll see you later." Chris said and opened the door.
"Love ya big bro!" Claire shouted.
"Love you too Claire." Chris said and left for downstairs
"Be careful." Claire said quietly and decided to lounge in the living room now that she couldn't go back to sleep knowing that Chris is about to enter dangerous grounds.
---
By the time Chris stepped outside, Jill pulled in. "Hey stranger, need a lift?"
"Are you sure you want to be picking up strangers at this hour?" Chris asked as he tilted his head so that he could see her through the passenger window.
"There's no time for this, we'd better get going." Jill said.
"Right." Chris got into her car and Jill drove off. It wasn't long till they reached the department. As soon as Jill parked, they bolted to the conference room to be briefed by Barry. Once that was completed, the Alpha team gathered all their equipment and headed towards the helipad where Brad waited in the helicopter.
"Let's go!" Barry yelled and everyone took their seats. Brad lifted off towards their destination where the Bravo team and Wesker anxiously waited for their arrival. Inside the helicopter, all they heard was the twirling of the propellers and nothing more. Everyone was quiet, each one silently praying for a safe mission. Soon the helicopter touched down. "Let's move it, Alphas." Barry said as he exited first and met up with Wesker. As the others piled out, everyone noticed a distinct black van parked just over the corner.
"S.W.A.T? What the hell are they doing here? I thought this was our mission." Joseph said.
"I don't really care just as long as we get this mission done and everyone comes out unscathed." Chris said.
"Amen." Jill said as she removed her beret to fix her hair out of her face. Chris started at Jill then reached into one of his vest pockets and produced an un-open pack of Pall Malls and started packing it. "You're gross." Jill said as she watched him open the pack up and lit a stick.
"I'd blow this smoke in your face, but I'm trying to change my ways." Chris said as he blew the smoke to the side.
"It's nice to see that even at a time like this, you're still an ass." Jill smiled and blew him a kiss. Joseph laughed at Jill's gesture.
"Alright everyone gather 'round." Wesker called to the whole team. "Chris, put that out. Not all of us enjoy second hand smoke." Chris took one last puff and killed his cigarette. "Okay S.W.A.T. is here and I don't want to settle for silver. This is our mission when we started and it shall remain ours till the end. Now I don't know exactly what S.W.A.T. is up to but they're taking the west side of the building. Take note that this is a very big building and we don't know where the terrorists are residing as of now. All we know is that they have hostages. And don't ask how they have hostages at a time like this." Joseph put his hand down. "Enrico will lead the Bravo team through the basement parking and handle the south side while I will lead the Alphas and Rebecca to the east side. Brad, we're going to need you to drop us off on the roof of the other building. There is a vent that connects the two buildings and that's where we will be infiltrating. Now listen up because I cannot stress this enough. I don't care how good a marksman you are," He eyed Chris, "how fearless you are, or how crazy you are, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT split up with your partner. You should have each other's backs. And do not shut off your radios." Wesker said and everyone nodded. "Okay the teams are, Barry and Joseph, Chris, you're with Jill, Forest and Kenneth, Enrico and Richard and Rebecca you're with me. Brad, you will be stationed in the chopper and be ready to pull us out when the time comes." Brad exhaled, relieved that he will not be apart of the infiltration. "Alright let's go!" Wesker commanded and the Bravos left for their side and the Alphas and Rebecca piled into the helicopter. Brad took off and landed shortly on the building beside the mark. They all got off and Brad retreated to base. The Alphas didn't waste time in infiltrating and were soon in the building, undetected. "Okay, here's where we split up. Barry, Joseph, take floors 20-25, Chris, you and Jill take 26-31 and Rebecca and I will take 32-37, then the roof. Alright everyone keep your eyes open and good luck." Wesker finished and they all went their separate ways.
"Hey Chris, you know when you asked me to stay, did you really mean it?" Jill whispered as they walked quietly through the halls of the 26th floor.
"Did you really have an appointment?" Chris whispered.
"Um, hmm, let's just focus." Jill said.
"Shh. I thought I heard something. Come, on this way." Chris said as he motioned Jill to follow him up the stairs to the next floor. Jill followed behind him, keeping her senses sharp.
"Jill come in. This is Barry. Anything on your end?"He asked.
"Nothing unusual, but it's too early to determine anything."
"Yeah, okay. Keep us updated, over and out." Barry said.
"What did Barry want?" Chris asked.
"Nothing, he just wanted to know our status."
"Did you hear that?" Chris asked.
"Yeah. It sounds like muffled footsteps." Jill said as she gripped her gun tightly, ready for what's to come.
"Relax your grip, you're too tense. You might end up shooting me." Chris smiled.
"Hey, I don't need tips right now, okay? Let's be serious about this. I don't want to end up dead. And I wouldn't want you either." She said seriously.
"You're right, I'm sorry." Chris said as they passed a couple of more doors that headed towards the stairs for the next floor.
"Left or right?" Jill whispered as they came to a fork in the hall.
"I think we should split up, we'll cover more ground." Chris said. As Jill opened her mouth to speak, Chris cut her off. "I know what I'm doing, and you know what you're doing. We're both professional and highly skilled in this field. The faster we find these hostages, the better I'll feel knowing that they're safe."
"You're right. Who knows what's about to go down. We can't waste another second. I'll radio you if anything and you better do the same."
"Change your frequency to 7. We'll meet on the other end of the hall and devise another plan. Be careful." Chris said and went on his direction.
"You too." Jill whispered and went on hers.
As Chris treaded down the hall, the feeling of being watched or followed kept with him. He kept his eyes sharp and gun on point if needed. As he neared the end of the hall, he spotted something, rather someone sprawled on the ground. Thinking it may be a trap, he approached the figure with caution. Upon reaching the victim, he rolled him over with his foot with his gun still at the ready. Chris found him to be unconscious and immediately checked his pulse to see if he was still alive. He felt the beating of his pulse within his fingers and decided to radio Jill and notify her of his find. Just as he was going to, Jill came in contact first. "Chris, this is Jill, I'm here where we're supposed to meet and I haven't found anything unusual, you?"
"Jill? Yeah, I found a person. I think he's one of the hostages. He's lying unconscious on the floor at the moment, but I just can't figure out why he's lying here."Chris said.
"Is he alive?" Jill asked.
"Yeah he's alive, but I can't get him to wake up."
"Okay, just sit tight, I'll be there." Jill said and backtracked to where they parted ways.
"Yeah, in the meantime, I'm just going to duck into the…" Chris paused for a moment to read the label on the door across from him, "Into Mark Lanely's office and take this guy with me just to be out of the cle…shit." Chris said, upon feeling the cold metal barrel of a gun resting at the back of his head and hearing the sound of the hammer click.
"Chris what's wrong?" Jill asked upon hearing the change of tone in his voice and not to mention the sudden change of words. He didn't answer her and that got her worried. "Chris? Chris! I swear this better not be one of your jokes!" Jill said as she quickened her pace.
"How could I be so careless?" Chris said regrettably as his assailant held him at gunpoint.
"Yes, how could you? An elite from the S.T.A.R.S. team here in our very own Raccoon City. 'I've got to rescue these people.' Well it looks like you'll be needing the rescuing. Drop your gun." He demanded. Chris was hesitant at first but did so anyway seeing he could live a bit longer or at least until Jill gets to him.
"Chris! What's going on? Who's that?"Jill asked upon hearing the muffled conversation between what she knew was Chris' voice and of another. Still no respond from Chris, but what was now heard was a static-y channel. "Chris! CHRIS! Hang on! I'm coming!"Jill spoke into the radio even though she knew it was probably broken. Jill was extremely worried now and from her pace, broke out into a run for Chris.
"So you have a partner eh? And a woman for that matter, this could get interesting." He laughed.
Chris was enraged with what that man had said and forgetting the whole situation he was in, he stood up, turned around and faced his assailant.
"Whoa, slow down. I think you're forgetting who has the upper hand here." He said as he pointed the barrel of his automatic on Chris' forehead with immense strength and embedding it into his forehead. "I'm having fun, are you?" He teased as Chris eyed him with malice.
"I'm having the time of my life. Say, why don't we pop open a bottle of champagne to celebrate this event?" Chris said sarcastically and also to buy more time, if that's what he was doing.
"Nah, I think we'll do that when you're partner arrives. Maybe then we can have a party and you can watch." He said as he moved his gun from his forehead and pointed it to his chest.
"I swear, you better not touch her." Chris said.
"Or what, you'll kill me? Ooo, I'm so frightened." He said and reached to his pocket and took out a pack of smokes. "Mind if I smoke?"
"No, go right ahead. And since we're waiting for my partner, you think you can spark me one?"
"Well, I don't see why not considering you won't be alive much longer." He said and gave one to Chris. The guy reached into his other pocket and took out a matchbox.
"A matchbox?" Chris thought, "That's it!" Chris watched the guy struggle to take out one matchstick. "You're a stupid man." He thought as he cooked up an idea.
"You okay?" Chris asked. The guy looked at Chris and kept his gun pointed to him, thinking he was up to something. "Hey, I'm unarmed, you have the better weapon, what could I possibly do?" Chris said as he had his arms raised.
"I guess you're right. But you try anything funny and I will empty my clip into your brains."
"Deal." He then handed Chris the matchbox. He opened it up and took one out. He struck the match on the side of the box and watched the flame flicker as it came to life. He brought it up to light his assailant's stick. He inched his way up, being careful so that the flame doesn't die with quick movement. As the flamed danced on the edge of the cigarette, it died. "I hate matchsticks." Chris said and lit another one.
"You better not be stalling." He warned. Chris looked at him and brought the lit match up again, but this time, he quickly shoved the flickering matchstick into his assailant's nose and quickly pushed the gun away from him. The guy screamed with pain and pulled the trigger and fired shots into the wall, seeing that Chris held the gun to the side and out of his way. As bullets were flying out of the barrel, Chris punched the guy in the nose. With the guy's nose in so much pain, he let go of the trigger and grabbed his nose with both hands. Chris took this time and yanked the gun out his hands. The guy immediately let go of his nose to fight for the possession of the gun. They struggled for a while until the gun was thrown to the middle of the hall. All that was left was Chris gun of the floor. The guy eyed it and Chris saw this, knowing his gun was behind him. As the guy lunged for it, Chris kicked him, causing him to fall back. Chris ran to his fallen figure and tried to restrain him, but the guy squirmed from underneath him. He then kneed Chris in the gut and kicked him off of him. The guy then got up and ran for the gun but Chris tripped him and once again he ended up on the floor. Chris got to him and picked him up from the floor and as he stood him up, the guy grabbed hold of his collar and punched Chris just a little to the left of his abs. Chris was stunned as he felt this piercing punch. The guy then pushed Chris back and he stumbled on the unconscious man lying on the floor and fell, his gun just inches away from his grasp. The guy stood in front of Chris and just laughed. He didn't know why.
"Looks like I'm victorious." The guy said as he spit the blood out from his mouth. Chris was confused until he remembered the piercing punch. He looked down and found a dagger embedded in him. Chris was stunned. He didn't see this coming. He stood up, forgetting about his gun and reached for the dagger within him. As he was about to pull it out, he saw Jill turn the corner and run down the hall. She paused midway and brought her gun up to fire. Chris saw this and jumped towards the corner leading into another hall and out of harms ways. Blam! Blam! Blam! He heard three shots fired from Jill's gun. He grimaced with pain from the landing then crawled and sat up against the wall where he managed to pull the dagger out of him. Blood gushed out as he tried to hold it in with his hands. Loss of blood and the hard landing were getting to him and everything was going blurry until all was pitch black.
Back at the hall, Jill managed to put bullets into the guy's thigh and one on his shoulder. He was kneeling on the ground, crying in pain when Jill clocked him on the back of his head. He was down and out. Jill took out some tie straps and strapped him up. She made sure that he wouldn't get out it if he were to wake up soon. "Chris!" She yelled as she got up. She then ran towards the corner where Chris had jump and saw someone kneeling next to his limp body with a bloody dagger at hand. "Don't move!" Jill called out.
"Hey, wait, I'm one of the good guys, S.W.A.T."
"What did you do to Chris!" She yelled as she stood her ground.
"I didn't do anything. I heard shots, and came running this way and when I got here, I saw him here." He said as he took off his helmet.
"You! You hated him! How do I know you're not lying!" Jill yelled at Chris' S.W.A.T. nemesis, Marcus.
"Yeah, I hold hatred for him, but not enough to stab him. And if you don't help me now, he'll die!"
Jill knew he was right. She put her gun away and ran towards Chris' side. "Chris, hang on, we'll get you out of here, you'll be okay." She said as she tapped his face lightly to try and wake him. All she got out of him was a soft moan. "Call for back up!"
"What do you think I'm doing? Here, try to hold back the bleeding." He said as he tossed Jill a towel.
"Chris, can you hear me? Stay with me please." She pleaded as she put pressure on his wound. Just then, Joseph and Barry came round the corner.
"Jill! What happened? We heard shots." Joseph said.
"Chris, he's been stabbed! Help me!" She yelled frantically.
Both of them ran to Chris' aid. "Jill, paramedics are heading up here." Marcus informed her. "They're coming from the 23rd floor."
"Jill what happened to you two? We kept trying to radio you that we've found the hostages and that the others caught the people behind this." Barry said.
"I…I…don't know." Jill stammered. "Chris' radio got crushed and I guess mine probably switched channels while I was running." She had to lie.
"Probably." Barry said.
"Chris! Chris, stay with me buddy." Joseph yelled, "Where are the damn paramedics!" He yelled. Just then the paramedics arrived and tended to Chris. After they stabilized him, they loaded him on the stretcher and rushed down the building and into the ambulance. As the others followed them down, Barry radioed Wesker and the others who where at the ground and informed them of the situation.
Upon reaching the outside of the building, Joseph grabbed Marcus and pulled him off to the side. "Hey man," He began, "I don't really care what you were doing on the east side but thanks for helping Jill out with Chris."
"It's no problem. Listen, Chris is going to be fine, he's a fighter. Plus, we still have a score to settle and I think he'd be wanting to settle it. I'll see you around, alright?" Marcus left and joined his group of S.W.A.T. members who were eager to know what happened on the 28th floor.
The S.T.A.R.S team watched the ambulance that carried Chris drive away. As soon as the ambulance was out of sight, they all piled into the helicopter and flew back to the RPD. While in the helicopter, Barry took this time to call Claire and let her know what had happened. She was extremely upset and terrified that she might lose the only family she has left.
They finally reached the RPD and Wesker told them that they could file the paperwork tomorrow, considering it was already three in the morning and one of their teammates was in the hospital. Everyone was thankful that they didn't have to file the paperwork just now. They all left for the locker room to get changed. Jill went straight for the sinks to wash Chris' blood from her hands. She stood there washing for a good five minutes while everyone silently watched her. "Jill, I don't think your hands will get any cleaner." Barry said as he watched her scrub her hands.
"I…Barry, this is all my fault." Jill's eyes began to water.
"Jill no one is blaming you." Richard said from behind.
"He's not going to die. He's too stubborn to die." Joseph said.
"Joseph's right. Now let's hurry and get changed so we can get out of here and be there when Chris wakes up." Enrico said.
"Rico's right. We don't want him to wake up alone." Forest said.
"Don't call me that." Enrico told him.
"Right, sorry." All them finished changing and went to the hospital in their own cars while Richard took Chris' bike. Five minutes after they arrived, Claire came rushing in.
"Barry!" Claire greeted him with a hug. "Is he okay?" She asked.
"No word yet, but I know he's going to be okay. Why don't you have a seat?" Barry led her to where all of them were snoozing in the waiting area. As Claire was walking towards the chair, she spotted Jill and immediately walked up to her.
"You! You were his partner! Where the hell were you when he got stabbed?" Claire yelled at her. Claire now had a real reason to really hate Jill.
"Claire, Claire! Calm down. This isn't her fault." Barry said as he pulled Claire away.
"Yes it is! She's supposed to have my brother's back! She was probably to busy lollygagging down the hall or probably flirting with the bad guys than helping my brother."
"Claire that's enough. You know as well as I do that Chris wouldn't be blaming anybody for his misfortune. Jill already feels bad about all of this and blames her self. All you're doing is making her burden heavier. If you're going to continue to behave like this, then I suggest you leave." Barry said as calmly as he can.
"I'll behave." Claire said and took a seat next to Forest who was falling asleep.
"I think you guys should go home and get some sleep." Barry said to the team who were all drowsy with sleep.
"Okay, we'll be back at nine or ten o'clock." Joseph said. Everyone agreed and said their goodbyes to Claire, Barry and Jill and left the hospital.
"I think you should go too Barry. I'll stay here and wait." Claire said.
"No, I can't." He said.
"Barry, its five o'clock and you haven't slept yet. You must be really tired and Cathy is probably worried. You should go home." Claire said.
"Fine, but call me as soon as you get some news." Barry said.
"Will do and drive carefully." Claire said and hugged Barry goodbye. The only ones left were a very silent Jill and Claire. For the longest time, they didn't say anything to one another, until Jill finally spoke.
"I'm sorry."
"What?" Claire asked.
"I'm sorry. I know I should've been there for him. He would've been there for me if the situation had been different."
"Yeah. Well, you shouldn't be sorry. Barry's right. You shouldn't blame yourself. You'll probably drive yourself crazy." Claire managed a smile out of Jill. "But listen, having this 'little' talk doesn't change the fact that I still dislike you."
"It's a deal. But just know I don't feel the same way you feel about me. If I can and you'll let me, I would like to get to know you. Maybe then you might feel differently about me."
"Maybe." Claire said gruffly. Just then, a doctor emerged from the double doors that lead to the operation room and walked up to where Claire and Jill were sitting.
"I'm Dr. Quan. You're here for Redfield, right?" The doctor asked Jill, whom he recognized from earlier.
"Yes, we're here for Chris." Claire answered.
"And you are…" The doctor asked.
"I'm his sister. So what's the news doc?" Claire asked eagerly.
Dr. Quan looked at her with an expression neither she nor Jill could read. He looked at them intently and began to speak. "Well, he's not looking too good."
Well now, that's about it for this chapter. I just wanted to thank everyone for reviewing and for deepgirl for her criticism. It was interesting and I totally appreciate it. I know that the characters are out of character, but I just wanted to have a little fun with this. I mean, what's the point of writing if you're not enjoying the experience. As for being vulgar, yah, I know, I was a bit skeptical about putting it in, but I did and all is done. And with their pulling pranks and being immature, I was just showing how carefree and silly they were before the mansion incident. They don't act like that all the time, it's just out of boredom (And it seems as though they are bored all the time ). After the mansion incident (sequel?), there won't be any pranks pulled and whatnots. I would have included times where everyone is "in" character, but it's going to be way too long and I'm not about to right a friggin' novel, yikes! And some of their behaviors depicted are based on previous stories that I've read here and everyone else seemed to like it so what the heck. Anyways, so the storm that I talked about in the earlier chapter missed us, but guess what? Another one is brewing and heading here again so we'll just see what happens. Okay and remember when I said that this fic might be done by September, well I don't think it will, maybe in December who knows. With all that mumbo-jumbo said, I'll be departing now to work on my homework and also on the next chapter. Toodles.