Hello and welcome to When You Said It First, albeit a story I am spur of the moment writing. It's a fanfic regarding the reality of matters shortly after the Spencer Estate raid. This story doesn't acknowledge Uroboros or anything after (sorry Jake fans, no Jake here or Ethan for that matter). It starts off roughly 4 months after Jill's "death" at the Estate with a different turn of events. No, Jill does not become sexi blonde kickass unwilling assistant to Wesker. You'll have to read to find out what happens.

Before we start let me get some things out of the way; everything regarding creations made by Capcom itself belongs to said creators and are no property of mine. I don't claim ownership but merely the rambles of my fingers as they decide what to write and the direction of this fanfic. Yes, if you squint hard enough you'll find some Chris x Jill and some lesser hints and nudges but the focal point will be, for all those fanatics such as myself, Claire x Wesker.

There will be a slew of other characters appearing here and there so smile when you see them pop up because who knows what horrors I have in store for all present. Keep in mind the timeline may not 100% line up in terms of dates. For reference; the Raid on the Spencer Estate is roughly in the Autumn of 2006 in canon storyline. This story starts in July of 2007 with the events of the Estate happening in roughly March, 2007. So that means for this story the Spencer Estate raid is pushed forward a few months into the following year. So keep that in mind.

Another smaller matter to discuss, all points of view will be from the individual's perspective, such as the "I" view. There are means to gauge who the view is from but if you get confused on who the view is at that specific part just let me know and I can clarify. I'll try to make sure to tack a small note at the bottom of each chapter for reference as well. Also, yes, I have a quirk of bolding speech because I write that way. So all speech will be bolded to differentiate it from the actions and thoughts. It's just my favored writing style.

The starting song lyrics are from Demons by Jacob Lee, if you don't know the song or artist I highly recommend checking them out, they are amazing and the songs are beautiful. I can give a list of some of my favorites if desired. Just let me know in a review or DM.


Leave me in peace

Caught in my memories

Lost underneath

Deep in my structure, I feel a rupture

From where she should be

You've taken my breath from me

Now I want to breathe

'Cause I cannot see, what you can see

So easily

I tipped my drink back, an unsettling notion akin to paranoia taking root deep in the center of my chest. Perhaps some ill-forgotten gut feeling or instinct was warning me but the alcohol sliding down my throat let me keep myself in check.

I didn't make any further movements besides placing my hand down, glass half empty clutched between nimble fingers.

I could hear the approaching footsteps but didn't have a care left in me. Jill had been killed. Chris was missing. My entire world was thrown on its axis and I had hoped- no, prayed, that I could be left to whatever meager quiet I had curled up in.

The TerraSave camp was roughly ten miles to the east but I had retreated to the local village bar to drink away my frustration over the news I had been given by Leon a few months prior. The news about Jill and Chris. When Jill had been killed, in a fall during a mission involving Wesker, Chris had went off his rocker. Instead of lashing out he had fled into the shadows, off grid, and that was far more dangerous if he was unhinged.

Those concerns, however, would have to wait. A stool shifted beside me before a form heaved down onto it. I didn't need to turn to know who had tracked me down.

Hell, it wasn't hard. TerraSave's movements were plastered all over the news after the viral outbreak in Africa had brought us here to clean it up. I was a high member of TerraSave and it was easy to surmise my presence would have been apparent.

I put my head into my free left hand, fingers acting as if they might try to gouge out my closed eyes by the amount of pressure I was applying. Knuckles against closed eyelids were one of the few smaller motions that calmed my frazzled nerves.

"I see you've picked up your brother's habit of wallowing your sorrows in a deep glass." His drawl was the only noise beside the scrape of the stool that had permeated the room in what felt like hours.

I lifted my hand away, red popping in my vision as I opened my eyes and glared at him. "What the fuck do you want? To gloat? Brag?" I sneered at him in a way I would have never mustered before but my normal self had been replaced by a rolling anger that scared even me when I saw my expression on any reflective surface.

"About what? I don't quite understand what you're referring to." He snorted, a hand lifting to take the bottle that had been situated in front of me and poured himself a glass of the Sky Vodka I had procured.

"Play dumb. It doesn't change what you did." I took a deep gulp, pressing the glass down a little too roughly this time as it clattered against the wooden bar counter. "I have nothing to say to you. So unless you plan to kill me please just fucking leave."

I could see the scowl on his face from the corner of my vision, the black shades concealing his hellfire eyes but the furrow of his brows gave way to that inkling of understanding of his reaction. He was confused. Did he not remember he killed Jill or was she just another mark in the book?

I turned my head, left hand brushing back a fallen strand of red hair from my otherwise messy bun I had yanked it back into earlier that morning. I leveled my frosty gaze on him, trying to convey the fact that I wanted him to either kill himself or fuck off to the other side of the planet.

"Mm." He made a sound akin to realization. I could almost hear rather than see the gears turning. "If you are accusing me of leaking the virus you're just as much an imbecile as your elder sibling. I don't profit from exposing the past of Umbrella now that I've acquired all it's assets."

Yes, I had heard about that too. Rebecca Chambers was the one that had alerted me. I wouldn't be surprised if Chris, in the shadows, had seethed for the last four months at hearing that Spencer was proclaimed dead and Wesker had taken up as the head of Umbrella Corporation, the new chairman. He'd likely put the old man down in order to take his empire.

"I don't give a damn about your excuses. It's because of you that the virus exists." I managed to spit before taking another swig from my nearly empty glass.

"While I will never deny my role in the creation of the T-Virus I, however, was never the idiot who allowed it to kill innocents-" Before he could finish whatever else he planned to say I spun on my stool.

Venom was clearly laced across my face and he seemed transfixed for a moment by whatever he saw that flashed from me. Perhaps my deep hatred and anger had manifested into an expression straight from hell itself. "You killed Jill. I heard that Chris and Jill went to the mansion and you killed her."

I could almost feel him blink behind those shades, his expression becoming blank aside from a vein twitching on his forehead. "Miss Valenti-"

"No, shut up. Shut the hell up! I'm not done." I seethed, laying out exactly the way I was feeling. "You're an egotistical maniac with no regard for human life. You killed S.T.A.R.S., you killed Steve on Rockfort, now Jill! You kill and destroy, that's all you're capable of."

His face became angry now, the only reason I knew was that his fists had clenched and his jaw tensed, his lips twitching. "Are you finished with your deluded accusations?" He said through gritted teeth.

Now it was my turn to scowl. "Hardly but I don't want to waste my breath more than I already hav-"

"Miss Valentine is alive."

His words drew shock from my system, stilling any further insult or rant I could utter. I blinked, confusion morphing my face into something much softer. "What?" I don't think I heard him right.. he was lying, he had to be..

"I made sure she lived. She was badly injured and before she slipped into a coma she seemed to have suffered from amnesia. She had a shock to her mental state that left her body rejecting consciousness. She refuses to wake up. I came here with the notion that your presence might pull her from where she's run to."

I was immediately on my feet, some idea of hope twisting my gut. If Jill was alive Chris would return to his senses, come back, everything would be fine again. "Where the hell is she?"

"I had her pulled to Umbrella's Headquarters. Despite whatever you think of me, Miss Redfield, if I had wanted to kill either of the two you care for I would have done so years ago." He adjusted his expensive black coat as he stood. He hadn't even touched the glass he had poured for himself.

He carefully pulled his phone out and swiped to something before turning it to me. It showed a picture of a woman laid on a table with a hospital sheet over her pale frame. It was definitely Jill, I could recognize her in a crowd any day.

"Why haven't we been made aware of this?" I demanded, my confusion to his reasoning apparent. "Everyone thinks she is dead."

"Have you tried getting ahold of your brother when he's finally snapped?" He had a point. I'd only seen my brother unhinged once before and that was when he had revealed to me what had happened at the Arklay Facility. "Perhaps through you he can be made aware, once she wakes up."

I squinted at him then, our height difference forcing me to peer up at those stupid shades he wore even indoors. How could he see clearly with those blasted things in this dimly lit bar?

"I don't want to keep her any longer than necessary. The sooner she wakes up the sooner her body will get better and she can return to wherever she considers home." He slid his phone away before folding his arms against his chest.

"If this is some trick I swear to go-"

"No tricks." He said professionally, his tone almost too indifferent, detached. "We haven't got all day, make your decision. Will you come with me or shall I just stick her in a hospital or mental ward where she can rot with no clue who she is, trapped I'm sure in whatever unpleasant illusions her mind can conjure."

"I'll go if it means bringing both her and Chris home." I was determined to help my friend.

At first I was livid he had been here, my anger almost to that tipping point of no return but his news had simmered that anger to the back burner for now. I had to control the mixed emotions I had inside me.

Albert Wesker had saved Jill Valentine. Jill was alive. That was more than I could ever hope for.


It didn't take long to not only find her but convince her of the reality of Miss Valentine's status. I had no ill intentions as I wanted her to believe, merely using her as a means to get Valentine out of my hair. Yet that wasn't the full truth. Claire Redfield had always been one of the few who didn't run from me screaming in terror or back down at the threat of violence. Even when beaten down and defeated she still retaliated. A fire that could never be put out, no matter how hard the wind blew.

Her resilience and stubborn willpower was what had always fascinated me. Unlike Chris who was all brawn his sister had gained brains and common sense. She had gotten a degree in college though which field I'm sure wasn't suitable for a woman of her hidden talents.

She had survived not only Raccoon City but Rockfort Island, faced off against a mutant Birkin as well as both the warped beings of Steve Burnside and Alexia Ashford. She even went toe to toe with me. I had to commend her for her bravery in the face of certain death.

She had a strength most would never achieve and I often wondered what a powerful ally she could make. Perhaps the issue of Valentine and her temporary stay in my domain would afford me the chance to change her mind.

It wasn't just that, if I were being honest but I would never admit to such sentiments stirred in her presence.

A helicopter had been called and was carefully setting down. Soon we boarded and the sleek craft lifted and took off in the direction it was meant to go. I could tell she was admiring the black commercial helicopter by the way she was pressed against the side, peering out.

The craft itself was a Bell 206 Jet Ranger, originally meant for the military but was later reinvented for civilian usage. It's hull had the Umbrella symbol as well as the name carefully painted onto the tail.

It would be several hours flight and she was told such so she settled into her seat, stifling a yawn.

I pressed a button on my headset, informing her over the roar of the moving craft, "Sleep and I will wake you when we land."

She leveled a glare at me before deciding not to protest. I suppose she got the picture that if I had intended to harm her or worse I would have already done so.

She closed her eyes and leaned back into her seat, trying to be as relaxed as possible.

I took those few hours of flight while she slept to study her. She had aged, sure, but hardly enough to warrant significant changes and hadn't chosen to make big physical changes either. She had just hit the 30 marker and she still had the long wavy red hair, longer than when we had last met face to face. I could tell because even though it was in a bun the pieces that had spilled out were rather lengthy. She had filled out in other places and had selected to wear blue jeans, black boots, a cream and grey blouse with a thin navy blue jacket overtop.

She didn't harbor a wedding ring so it was safe to say her personal life choice regarded being single as a top priority given her field. Or maybe that was just due to being picky with the opposite sex. I wouldn't assume.

There was a light scar just barely noticeable at the edge of her collar on her neck and I briefly wondered where it had come from.

Giving up on my more physical observations I chose to bring my mind back to my work. I didn't have time to be distracted, I had a company to run.


I woke several hours later to the low thrum of an engine dying down and so I stretched, working out the kinks left in my stiff body from being jostled by the moving aircraft. I got up and stretched, noticing that Wesker had been about to wake me up judging by the way he stood before me, hand falling.

"Good, you're awake." He didn't offer me his hand and I'm thankful because I wouldn't have accepted it anyway and I'm sure he knew that. I climbed down from the craft and stretched again before examining wherever the hell we had landed.

Judging by the expanse of ocean I could see to one side we were either on a coastline or an island. We had landed on a helipad situated on the ground in what almost looked like a massive courtyard area a bit from an old castle and various other antique buildings.

As we walked to the castle it gave me time to examine it. It was spread out with sleek black marble stone that glistened in the fading sunset. I could see spires and towers here and there. Branching down from this castle laid an entire town, sprawled along the side of the land that fell down toward the ocean. At the beach was a small port that seemed well guarded judging by the way it was built.

I turned my head to study him, frowning. "Are we by a beach?"

"We're on Chesmire Island, one hundred miles off in the Pacific Ocean." He clarified, a smirk forming on that damnable statue-esque face of his. I wanted to wipe it away with my fist.. or a metal baseball bat.

So we were on an island, which made this difficult because now there was little guarantee he wouldn't just slap me into a cell to rot as bait to draw Chris out.

I felt like he could read my thoughts. "Quell whatever theory you have brewing in that head of yours. You aren't a prisoner here but a guest. During your stay you will be treated as such. I'm sure you'll want to stay until she can be safely released so you'll be provided with clothes and food with a room close to where she's being kept." He carefully explained, gesturing towards the castle-like structure.

"Does this island house unsuspecting people?" I scrunched my nose at the implications to my question.

"No, this island only houses Umbrella personnel and their immediate relatives such as children or siblings. It's easier to have them on site rather than traversing back and forth. So their homes and the like are provided for. Everything they could need was brought to the island."

"Everything?" I furrowed my brows.

"There's a hospital, various restaurants, boutiques, apparel stores, recreational areas to name a few of what we have on the island."

"Impressive." I surprised myself by knowing that I meant it.

"Regardless of what afflictions were done in the past I can assure you under my ownership Umbrella is different. Spencer sought to use whatever means necessary to achieve his corrupted desires of being a god while I chose to use the resources of the company to help. What happened at Arklay, Raccoon City and Rockfort was a mistake enacted by the founders and one that will not be repeated."

"I'll believe that when pigs fly. Changing your clothes doesn't mean you've become a saint." I scoffed at him. I wasn't some gullible idiot who would hang to his every word as if it were pure. I knew his erratic behavior was flippant at best and I wasn't going to be caught off guard when that switch snapped to the true side.

"You'll be given an ID card during your stay with the equivalent clearance of a basic resident so please do not get any notions of snooping into private areas or rooms above your clearance." He pressed his hand to the small of my back and led me towards the castle entrance and despite its age the doors had been changed to sliding ones. They parted to grant us admission and I realized that even though the outside was dated perhaps early 1700s the interior and layout had long since been modernized.

Glass chandeliers hung elegantly in what I wanted to call the lobby / reception area where a young brunette sat behind a sleek sterile white desk. She was filing her nails and examining them while her shoulder supported a phone with which she was chatting quickly.

The room itself held several pale cream cushions and grey TVs mounted here and there with the volume turned low showcasing a drama or a news channel.

The receptionist paused in her conversation as she realized who had entered and stood, holding the phone away from her.

"Chairman Wesker, Doctor Birkin is waiting for you in your office, was anxiously pacing last I checked. You also have several emails that I've forwarded to you to sign as well as certify, sir." Her low lilting voice was like a chime in the wind, musical but soft.

"Thank you, Miss Reed. Inform Doctor Birkin I will be there shortly." Without another word of acknowledgement he gestured for me to follow and so I did. The hallway we moved through was much the same with its upkeep, the Umbrella logo the true splash of color with it's red to the white and black color scheme of decorations.

"The structure was in ruins when I purchased this island. When we began our construction I had them utilize the frame of the castle for decorative measures while also building in the places it no longer supported. There are now four upper levels and ten sublevels to just the castle alone. Most of the island has areas beneath for storage or shelter considering this is an island and we suffer from storms."

My mind paused as something clicked. "That receptionist said Doctor Birkin. Do you have Sherry here?" I asked quizzically, eyeing him like a pack of stale cookies.

"We recovered William, her father, and reversed a lot of the damage the mutation had done to his body and he now spearheads a lot of our projects alongside me. Sherry is here though she's usually holed up in one of the labs of late." He explained. He led me to an office room before locating what we were here for, handing me a clipped ID card that merely read "Resident" boldly printed.

If Sherry was here that meant she'd been taken from the government's clutches.. hopefully without the loss of life.

"Now, let me show you to your room first so you can make sure it's to your liking and then we'll make our way to Miss Valentine's room."

With that he spun on his heels and we descended down another hallway, into an installed elevator and to the fourth floor. I assumed this floor was reserved for the higher ups as it was much grander than the lower floors, almost like suites rather than mere rooms.

He led me to a door marked 10A and held out his hand for my card. I passed it over and realized it had a sort of barcode on the back. He did his magic with the lock, registering my card to it before handing it to me as the door slid open.

"The card you have is now linked to this specific door. So it will only respond to those with certain clearance such as myself and the staff for cleaning if required with the inclusion of yourself." He stepped inside, gesturing for me to follow and so I did.

I was right to assume a suite. We moved into a living room with a kitchenette pressed to the back right corner. Beside it was a door to the right that led into a sort of office. To the left were two separate doors, one I presume being the bedroom and the other a bathroom. It was all tastefully painted with a deep crimson tone to the walls, black tiled flooring spreading out from the kitchen to the soft grey carpet of the living room.

I moved to investigate it all and I could hear his chuckle at my excitement. I didn't bother to glare at him. The living room had a black leather couch, grey wall-mounted 70inch flat screen. A slim dark cedar coffee table was in front of the couch but to the right of it against the wall was an end table with a lamp. The ceiling arched a little higher than I expected which drew my eyes towards the faint little star pattern done in white along the trim.

The kitchen, however, was rather simple with black marble countertops, stainless sink and fridge, an electric stove, an island with stools lining one side. The cabinets mirrored the coffee table by being dark cedar with silver handles. Upon inspection there were different silverware and dishes in red and black as well as the cabinets stocked with food, fridge too.

My inspection led me then towards the little office first. I half expected a computer but instead was met by a desk in the middle of the room that was old white ash, a comfortable looking black office chair. To the right the wall was lined with bookshelves with different types of books. Perusing them led me to believe it was stocked to cover a lot of different fields and topics, even some various genres like fantasy or romance depending on one's literary fancy. To the left was a quarter of the wall sized window that allowed a beautiful scenic view of a garden over spilling below.

The desk was filled with tablets, binders, packs of paper, writing utensils both pencil and ink. There were various other office tools one might need such as a stapler, paperclips, etc. I even noticed a sketch pad placed atop one stack.

I made a noise like a half squeal, half sound of awe before making my way to the bathroom. The shower curtain was a soft red trimmed with white flowers and the room itself matched the kitchen with it's black tiles and red walls. It had dark cabinets with medicine and bathroom essentials like razors, shampoo, even tampons or pads depending on your preference.

The shower wasn't a mere tub but a walk-in with what looked like some kind of red stone laid out as the floor with a drain in the middle. The curtain was meant to be a form of privacy from the silver toilet in the corner. There was a little closet in here as well that had cleaning supplies for the suite. The bathroom sink mirrored the red stone and the countertop was black marble.

The next room was the bedroom which was beautiful. The red queen-size canopy bed was situated directly against the back wall in the middle. To the left was a dresser and to the right was a little makeup desk. On the wall to my right was a closet already stocked with clothes that looked far too expensive to ever wear. There were little other objects scattered around the room like a tall mirror, a TV, a little shelf with some DVDs, a DVD player on the cabinet beneath the TV.

"Ok hold on." This was just too much. I stepped back into the living room area to find Wesker lounging on the couch, one leg propped up atop the coffee table, right arm slung across the back of the couch. I walked to be in front of him, hands on my hips. "This is too much for me."

"Is it not to your liking?" He arched a brow over his glasses, a frown starting to set into place.

"It's not that; the rooms are beautiful and perfect but you should use this room for a permanent resident, I'm just here until Jill's able to come home."

He moved as if to say something snarky but froze, evaluating his thought process before settling instead on clearly safer waters. "That could take time or perhaps she could be lost to her own mind."

I folded my arms against my chest, huffing out a breath. "Jill is tough, she'll pull through, she always has."

"Such faith, hopefully not misplaced." I scowled at him. "Come, I'll show you where she's being kept."

With that I followed him out into the hallway and down to the second floor.


So in case you didn't catch who was in the chapter; the first view is obviously Claire Redfield, then Albert Wesker, back to Claire once more. I hope you enjoyed, tell me what you think so far if you want.