A/N: A short fanfic about Chris and Jill's visit to the Winters's home. Takes place before the events of Resident Evil 8
After being greeted by Mia Winters the moment the door opens, the main thing that caught his attention was Jill holding the infant in her arms. His heart swells with unexplainable joy at the sight of her and her smile as she carries Rose who looks sound asleep. He could hear Mia asking Ethan how their day was and while he can also hear Ethan share how their day went, Chris couldn't coherently understand their conversation. The sound of their voices slowly fades out as his eyes meet Jill's and he smiles back at her delightful expression.
"Chris?" Ethan calls him and he turns his head back to the married couple. "Help me out here. She's worried that I'm over-working."
He looks at Mia and shakes his head. "Training wasn't that hard." It wasn't that hard for him but he is not sure for Ethan. In all honesty, sometimes people tell him that he might be a little too hard on Ethan just like how he is to his BSAA recruits then. But the guy hasn't been complaining so he assumes that he can still endure whatever he throws at him. For all he knows, Ethan is just highly determined to do well during their military training.
"Now that work is over, let's all have dinner. The Aglio E Olio I'm making is almost ready. Jill has been very patient and understanding while helping me cook and take care of Rose." Mia speaks while walking to the kitchen. "Honey, why don't you help me out here so that they can rest a bit while waiting for dinner."
Ethan walks towards Rose and runs the back of his finger on her cheek. "Hello, there. Did you behave while you were with Miss Valentine here?"
"Do you want to hold her?" Jill asks but he waves his hands.
"She looks like she is snoozing comfortably. I don't want to wake her up because Mia would snap at me if that happens." Chris couldn't help but chuckle at Ethan's remark. "You two just stay here and rest. I hope you don't mind looking after Rose for a few more minutes, she might wake up if you put her down. I don't know why babies work that way."
"Yeah, sure. I don't mind at all." Cradling the baby in her arms, she takes a seat beside Chris.
"Great, we'll let you know once dinner is ready." With that, he makes his way toward his wife.
"She looks so small." Chris mentions, his voice low and almost inaudible. He doesn't want to speak too loud nor to even move one bit, thinking that any slight movement or sound might wake Rose up.
"She is. Look at her nose. I think most of her features . . . " She pauses and observes her for a moment. "She got it from her dad, don't you think?"
He just gives her a nod even though in his mind, he has no idea how people compare who the baby looks like, father or mother. Because all babies look the same for him during their first few months.
"You should hold her." Taken aback by her suggestion, he stares at her without blinking. "Come on, I think Mia will not react the same if she wakes up because of you."
He wanted to reject her suggestion but deep down, he really wants to hold the small delicate human being too. Scooting closer to Jill, he holds out his hand and she carefully hands Rose to him. The baby twitched once or twice but fortunately she didn't open her eyes.
"There you go. See . . Still asleep as a baby." Jill gently pats Rose a couple more times then looks at the man holding her.
The size difference between him and the baby is incredibly noticeable. Rose looks so miniscule being carried in his arms. Then she looks at him, his cheerful smile and wrinkles around his eyes. She couldn't help but touch his lovely face. Her fingers petting the beard at the side of jaw while just plainly admiring the look on his face and the baby he is carrying.
"Look at how tiny her hands are compared to yours." She holds his wrist and while his index finger hover on top of Rose's hand. "You probably look like a giant to her." They share a quiet laughter. Chris can see her misty eyes and he knows what's going on in her mind because it's the exact same thing in his. He leans his forehead on hers as minutes continue to pass by.
As soon as he gets to the kitchen, he gives Mia a big kiss on the lips as he hooks his arm around her neck. She playfully hits his shoulder and mutters something about 'stop kissing her and messing up what she is cooking' but his lips plastered on hers makes it hard for him to understand the specific words she said.
"I guess you could just set the table." She smiles and rubs her hand on his tummy, signaling him to get started and the fact that she personally likes to do it to subtly check her husband's physique. She notices his muscles are getting firmer and she could thank that military training for that. Sure it's just an added perk and it's mainly for them to be safe but it's still very much appreciated. "Everything is almost ready."
As usual, his wife has taken care of everything. It's a mystery for him how she could manage almost everything in this household. Sure there are times that he takes care of Rose once he gets home but even then he still asks for Mia's help because of how much the baby needs care and attention. Yet, Mia can juggle between taking care of their baby and their home.
"Sure. I'll call them too once I'm done with the table." He starts taking out the plates and utensils. Their kitchen is not far from the dining area, it is just a few steps away. His hands are like on autopilot, putting down each item on the table, relying on muscle memory. Pausing every now and then just to get a glimpse of how his wife is doing. Mia doesn't usually like him around her kitchen, probably because she likes to move around as freely as possible. Him being in the kitchen would be more of an obstacle than help, blocking the way as she says it. He laughs it off all the time. Since Rose was born, he was more than happy to take the role of looking after their kid while Mia cooks.
"How was work and training?" She inquires. With all the adjustments they are going through, communication is important. They make sure to check on each other. Once a week, they would ask each other what they are thankful for and if there are things they want to change. This habit has been working and they plan on keeping it for as long as they can remember. "I know you're doing your best and I love that. I love you. But I just want to remind you to take some time off and rest as well."
"Yeah, don't worry about me." He pushes a few strands of her off from her face and smiles. After what they have been through for the last three years, he can't help but think that they could survive anything that life would throw at them. Seriously, his wife was missing for 3 years and everyone almost gave up. But not him, never. He couldn't. He loves her too much to just follow what people tell him. And his never-ending inquisitiveness paid off. They say that curiosity kills that cat but not for him, it led him to what he was looking for.
"I worry about the food getting cold if you don't finish setting up the table on time." They both laugh at her remark as he does his job.
"You two should visit more often. We don't have a lot of visitors here anyway." The words slipped before she could stop herself. She meant what she said about wanting them to visit more often. But it occurred to her that she shouldn't have mentioned the part about not having many visitors. Apparently, their life changed the moment she was involved with The Connection, that cursed crime syndicate that bit off more than they can chew. Everything changed and the next thing they know, things escalate to the point where they need to migrate to Europe. Chris is the one who urged them to move away and keep a low profile.
Jill gives Mia a soft smile. "After spending that much time with Rose? I can't wait to visit again." She reaches for the baby's hand to do a personal little handshake. "It's a deal, right Rose?" They all laugh in union as the tiny person in Mia's arm just stares at Jill. "I'll take that as a 'yes'"
Chris gives a pat on Ethan's back. "Great work today and of course-" he looks at Mia. "Thanks for dinner." There is no denying that he feels bad about what happened to the Winters. There are times he wonders if they would have preferred it if he would just leave them alone so that things would be less complicated. He knows he is not a hero and he can't save anyone. He can't give everything they want. They need to compromise. Still, he hopes to keep a good relationship between them.
Chris opens the driver's seat for Jill then he enters the passenger's seat. She was insistent on wanting to drive for tonight knowing how much Chris has been working for today.
"Did you have fun today?" Chris asks her in the middle of their trip.
"It's more than just fun. I'd say that I really like what happened today."
And there it is, that smile. It's not that hard to figure out that Jill really enjoyed the day mostly because she got to spend time with Rose. "You really liked hanging out with the baby, huh?"
"Yeah . . was it that obvious?"
"Let's have our own then?"
She takes her foot off the pedal to slow down the vehicle then glances at him. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about. What do you say? Let's have our own kid too." He looks at her and grabs her hand, it's warm despite the cold air in the vehicle.
She slowly steps on the break, needing a break, needing to make sure she is hearing him correctly. He talks about it like they could just visit a store and buy one for themselves. He already knows they can't get pregnant and they were both fine with it for the longest time. She faces him, the same feeling from earlier when they were holding Rose arise again. But the moment she looks at him, that's the moment she knew. His eyes are glistening as he stares intently at her. She gulps and takes a deep breath.
"Are you serious? Like adopt one?" The term 'read the room' is understatement but she wants to be 100% sure and know that everything that's happening is real.
"Yes. I think I've had experience trying to raise a kid at a very young age. What more now? Do you want to?" Raising his little sister is not technically counted for Claire was more than capable of taking care of herself but he felt like he needed to say something to reassure Jill that he is ready and sure about what he wants to happen. "I . . . I will do my best. I promise you, I will."
She nods and grabs his head, placing her lips on his while uttering the word 'yes' in between their kisses. He smiles widely and wraps his arms around her while kissing her. Who knew that one unplanned dinner would be a worthwhile visit after all.
A/N: This was short but hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm not quite sure when the next fanfic will be published but I'm sure if you click on "Author Alert", you will surely be notified if I release a new one. Also, you may visit my profile and check out my other social media accounts for my other contents.