"Hey, babe?"

I looked down, Jill had her head in my lap, and movie night was in full swing, "Dog Soldiers" was the centerpiece tonight.

Great movie.

"What's up, sweetheart?"

She reached up, brushing some hair out of my face, running her palm across my cheek, I leaned in, and she giggled as I pressed my lips to her palm.

"I was just thinking."

"Well, that's dangerous, what's next? You'll want to leave the house? Vote? Ye gods, woman!"

"Hush you. I was thinking, maybe we should take a trip, just the two of us."

"Chris will be crushed."

She whapped me in the arm, but the smile never left her face. "Goon… I'd like to see your mom and dad; we haven't had the chance to get out there since we got together, and we've both got plenty of sick days."

I smiled, "Let's do it."

Her face lit up, "Yeah?"

"Absolutely, you're right, it's been too long. I miss them."

"Do you…Do you think they approve?"

"Of you? Not a doubt in my mind, baby girl."

She suddenly looked worried, "I want them to, I know how much they mean to you."

I shifted, sliding behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist, "Babe, honestly? My mom loves you already; she's loved you since she saw how happy you made me; before all this, you managed to get my head out of my ass."

"No mean feat," she giggled again.

"Woman, I swear to GAHD."

Jill rolled over, facing me now, her breath warm on my face and a smile that could cure cancer slowly spreading across her lips.

"Seriously though, she saw all that, saw a lot more than I was comfortable with, and my Dad? He's just happy that I'm not alone anymore. They're simple enough, just want me to be happy."

Her smile turned even sweeter, and she kissed the tip of my nose, "Well, we have that in common, I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure you stay that way."

What do you say in a moment like this?

I leaned in, closing the gap and pressing my lips to hers, and for a while, bliss ruled me.

Pap

Pap

Pap

Something dripped onto my face, cold and wet.

I'm alive?

Holy shit, I'm alive!

Took the edge off the heroic sacrifice bit, but I wasn't in a position to complain. I tried to move and couldn't; it took me a second to realize I was buried in bricks, the building had collapsed, no real surprise there.

My eyes weren't working quite right, and I blinked a few times to clear them; I could barely see anything in the dark, but I saw enough. The BOW was stuck, just a few feet above me, impaled on twisted steel beams, it looked thoroughly dead, but we'd played that game before. I remained unconvinced.

I started slowly, shifting back and forth until I wiggled some slack into the pile pinning my limbs, everything hurt, and I mean the kind of pain that stole my breath with every small movement. But I kept going, and little by little, I worked my way free, sliding out of the pile, the crackling thumps of the bricks falling free sounded like gunfire in the enclosed space, and I hoped it wasn't enough to wake the monstrosity.

When I finally shimmied free, landing on the street, that foot high fall ripped a pained gasp from my lungs. I surveyed the damage with an anxious eye, cuts and scrapes marred every inch of exposed skin, everything felt broken, but the pain was receding quicker than I'd expected.

I laid there for a moment, utterly amazed that I was still alive. There was simply no way it was possible; Demon had sunk at least two Hellfires into the building, the shockwave alone should've killed me, but here I was, in pain but breathing. I tried to check my watch, only to find the thing had been obliterated, my Garmin too. Radio was gone along with my rifle.

Fuck.

I rolled onto my side, slowly gaining my feet, nothing seemed broken, and the pain was all but gone. I'd heard of guys surviving the unsurvivable, it happens in combat, the unreal becomes real very quickly, and was about to chalk this up to either a miracle or dumb luck when I noticed my rifle lying in the street. In two separate pieces. The missile strike had been so violent that it had snapped my rifle in half, at the handguard, not along the weaker upper and lower halves of the receiver, but perpendicular, shearing right through steel.

That…That makes exactly no fucking sense.

Abject panic replaced relief as I realized that the sun was slowly starting to rise, the barest glimpses of it peeking over the horizon, the strike was imminent. I closed my eyes and tried to think, the Chase building was fifteen blocks from the RNN building, and I was about three blocks beyond it. I added my survival to the list of questions that didn't have answers and started the run of my life. Whatever had saved me here, I was pretty sure there was nothing in the handbook that covered nukes.

Time to haul ass.

My boots thumped on the pavement as I ran; I'd been moving for blocks now with no signs of slowing down; I'd survived the mansion, the zombies, Hunters, the Tyrant, this fucking place, and that goddamned bloodhound of a BOW. I'd be damned if I was gonna get killed by my own guys.

Jill was waiting.

Five blocks from the Chase building, I ran into a ghost and the barrel of an 870 shotgun.

"Clint?!"

The barrel lowered, slightly, "MIKE?!"

The big bartender slung the shotgun and swept me up in a bear hug, laughing. When he set me down, I noticed the two girls in cover behind an overturned cab, watching the exchange with wide eyes.

Holy fuck, there is a God.

"No time, brother, we gotta move."

He smiled, looking ragged around the edges, but in one piece, he passed me my Glock " Believe this belongs to you, only has one mag left. We'll follow you, girls? Let's go."

We ran together, the two sisters leaning on each other, Clint and I in the lead. Zombies almost surrounded us a block from the building, but we blew past them, crashed into the lobby, and ran headlong into a group of over a hundred people, who all swiveled to look at us with wide eyes.

"Holy shit…"

They were ragged, dead-looking, the look of people who've seen hell. I raised my voice, trying to address them all, "People! We have to get you to the roof, the strike is coming soon, has anyone tried getting up there yet?"

"We just got here from the Rec Center!" Someone shouted back.

I nodded, "Good deal, let's head to the stairs, take your time, and keep it orderly. Can someone tell me what time it is?"

They were already moving, "Five-thirty!" The same guy called back.

We had almost no time, thirty minutes tops, "Okay, remember when I said take it slow? I fucking lied! Drop everything and run. Let's go, go go!"

The surge started immediately, everyone running for the stairwell like their lives depended on it, which let's be fair. They did. We ran for it, I was dragging an old man who looked to be in his eighties, "C'mon sir, I've got you."

Clint was right behind me with his daughters in tow as we rounded flight after flight. I regained a lot of my faith in humanity during that climb, when someone stumbled, someone else was there immediately to get them back on their feet. We were in this together, and finding a way out of this nightmare was everyone's responsibility.

I lost count of how many steps long before we finally burst into the early morning sunlight, the bag of flares and smoke grenades was sitting front row center, like a beautiful Christmas and birthday gift all rolled into one. I ran for it as the survivors spread out around the roof; I tossed Clint a flare and pulled the pin on a grenade, the spoon flying off, and tossing it onto the blacktop, the green smoke billowing into the sky.

Now we waited.

I looked around at the tired, haunted faces of the last hundred people in Raccoon City, Fathers and Mothers, Daughters, and Sons, and all the pain I'd gone through seemed worth it. Just to give them a chance.

"Do you think they'll come for us?"

I turned to see the same old man I'd helped, he looked like someone who didn't have time for bullshit, so I didn't give him any, "I don't know, sir,"

He smiled sadly, "My Ella died last year, can't tell you how happy I am that she didn't live to see this. Maybe I'll get to see her soon."

I reached over and squeezed his shoulder gently, "Then we'll all go together, sir, I can think of worse ways."

He nodded, taking a rattling breath, the smile on his face seemed almost relieved. I gave him a smile and walked over to where Clint had his girls wrapped in his arms, nodding at anyone who made eye contact and trying to provide them with as reassuring of a smile as I could muster.

I slid down the wall next to Clint, digging out my smokes, one left, huh? I snapped my dented zippo open, flicking it to life. I felt the tension ebb out of me as I blew a cloud of smoke across the rooftop to mix with the smoke from the grenade, "Hell of a thing, huh, Clint?"

"Hell of a thing," He whispered as the air raid sirens began to sound; he pulled his girls closer, kissing each of them on the head in turn.

I took another drag, closing my eyes and resting my head against the bricks. It wouldn't be long now.

Wait…

Were those?…

I popped off the ground, my smoke dangling from my fingers.

"Rotor blades?" I whispered. A second later, I got my beautiful, glorious answer.

Two Chinooks came flying in low, below the rooftops, gaining speed as they approached, the cheering started seconds later, long and loud, in defiance of everything they'd been through, all the horrors they'd seen.

A kid, couldn't have been more than sixteen, hugged me, crying on my shoulder. I'm not ashamed to say I joined him as the helos flared for landing. Once everyone was aboard, and I swept the roof to make sure, the ramp awaited me. Each step into the helo felt like a gift. Jill was alive, I'd made it, and we'd secured the vaccine, easy day.

I flashed the thumbs up to the crew chief, and we were just about to lift off when the rooftop door slammed open; a grey-haired man came rushing towards us adorned in a raggedy UBCS uniform that looked it had gone through a shredder. The crew chief waved him aboard, and he thundered up the ramp, finding an open space and sliding into it as we peeled away from the roof.

It took me a moment to recognize him.

Nikolai Ginovaef.

Salt Lake came rushing back like a freight train.

Welcome to the orientation for our Monitor program; the purpose of this particular unit is to evaluate the efficacy of our finished products in the field…

I'd walked by the conference room on my way to interview a new-hire, intrigued, I'd resolved to make the guy wait as I snuck up to the door.

"A Monitor must be impassive in the face of adverse reactions from the target population."

I hadn't liked the sound of that at all.

"Which is why you fine men and women were selected for a brief overview before we move off-site for a more…Specific informational session, does anyone have any questions?"

I peeked the door, spying an evil-looking dude, grey-haired, eyes like a shark, smiling at the exec, giving the orientation like a cat with a canary.

The same guy sitting among the refugees, doing his best to look as shell-shocked as we were, I motioned the crew-chief over, getting close so I wouldn't have to yell over the thumping rotor blades. This prick had left Jill to die, directly or indirectly caused the deaths of most of his buddies, and god knew how many civilians, but his greatest sin?

He had information I needed. And boy, he was gonna give it to me.

"I'm OGA, Keep an eye on that Umbrella dude, when we land, cover me."

He nodded and flashed me a thumbs-up, turning away and speaking into his boom-mic, no doubt letting Peterson know what the deal was.

I caught Nikolai looking over at us, holding his gaze with a nod and a tired smile that screamed: "we made it." That he returned after a moment, relief in his eyes.

Never hurts to keep them guessing.

Carlos's voice rang in my ears.

"Nikolai, the guy's a fucking animal, Russian Special Forces, he's the one who left Jill and the civilians to die out there. Mikhail was sure that he got our guys killed too."

Well, there was gonna be a fucking reckoning today.

We flew low and fast, heading for Peterson Air Force Base; I kept an eye on my watch, watching the final seconds of Raccoon's life tick away.

"LOOK!" Someone screamed over the roar of the helo.

Behind us, a streak of light soared over the horizon; we all sat there with bated breath, waiting for the end.

The primary detonation sent a cloud of smoke hundreds of feet in the air, the secondary detonation a moment later turned the early morning sky a hellish shade of red.

Burning Raccoon City away in a tidal wave of flame.

A few people cried; mostly, they just held each other close. I closed my eyes, said a small prayer, and a final goodbye to my home away from home.

We flared for landing at Peterson with an absolute sea of medical personnel waiting for us; Security Forces guys and gals stood nearby and waited to check the survivors for signs of infection. Nikolai walked down the ramp ahead of me; I stepped up my pace a little, motioning to one of the Airmen; the crew chief was on my heels, his M9 already in his hand. The Russian seemed to feel the shift in the mood; when he looked over his shoulder, I was in his damn business; in two long strides, I tackled him off the ramp and onto the ground. He made a wild grab for the Makarov still holstered on his hip, but the Sergeant I called over flipped his rifle around and wrote his name all over Nikolai's face with the butt of the M4, ending the fight as soon as it began; I kept my knee in his back while the Airman flex-cuffed him.

"Thanks, Sergeant."

He smiled, "Most fun I've had all day OGA."

I returned his smile, "Search him and keep him locked the fuck down, dude is ex-Spetz, and I don't want to go looking for his ass. Head on a fucking swivel, Sergeant."

"You got it OGA, they want you over at the TOC after you get checked out, med tent's that way." He pointed over my shoulder.

"Thanks, Sarge, appreciate the assist."

He gave me a broad smile as he dragged the now conscious and cursing Russian away.

I walked into the medical tent where Raccoon's living casualties were strewn around, medics attending to them, checking every inch for bites. Clint and his daughters sat off to one side, the big man was asleep, his girls in the same position, leaning on him for support; I smiled and kept walking, giving the nod to the old man from the roof as I passed.

I grabbed an Air Force doc, "Hey doc, listen, I'm OGA, and I'm late, can you give me the once-over so I can get today over with?"

She nodded, "Sure thing, sir, follow me."

We went over the basics as I sat on a gurney; I told her about being infected and vaccinated, her eyes went a little wide. For a moment, I was worried about getting slammed in a holding cell for the rest of forever, but she glossed right over it.

"So, any other injuries?"

Well, doc, I was dead center of an airstrike, didn't kill me obviously. I barely had a scratch on me when I dug myself out of a collapsed building.

I shook my head, I'd get Rebecca's input, the doc was doing her job, and I didn't need any more bullshit. She gave me the nod, and I slipped out the back door heading for the TOC. The amount of activity was bewildering, helos landing all around, bringing more troops and doctors, nobody was gonna take a chance of that virus getting out of here.I weaved around a couple of Marines and pushed open the tent flap into our little corner.

"Mike!"

Rebecca ran over, giving me a tight hug; Connor was behind her, along with Carlos and Tyrell. "Hey, kid."

She looked up at me with wide, shimmering eyes, "We thought you were gone."

"I almost was kid, too bad Umbrella hasn't thought up the thing that's gonna kill me yet. Where's Jill?"

She smiled, "In the infirmary, she's still asleep, but she's going to make it, no lingering effects from what I can tell. I'd have to examine her a little further, but she may have a natural resistance to the T-virus."

Joy broke through me; I gave Becca a smile and squeezed her shoulder. "Well, then I'll be in the infirmary, let Frank know. Boys?" I caught Connor, Ty, and Carlos's eyes in turn, "I'll be back later; we can debrief."

Connor flicked his hand at me, "Go, Mike, I'll get with Frank, and we'll round you up later."

I didn't deserve friends like him, "Thanks, brother."

The infirmary was quiet as I padded in, the charge nurse looked at me with wide eyes, in my nasty blood-stained Crye gear, "I'm looking for someone, about twenty-five, brunette, female, I'm not sure they ID'd her on her chart. But she came out of Raccoon, she would've been dead to the world."

She nodded, "The cop, right? Room three oh five sir. And it's no trouble."

I smiled again, nodding my thanks as I turned and headed for Jill's room. The closer I got, the more apprehensive I became, what if none of this counted? What if Becca and been wrong, and Jill still thought I was working both sides? I had all the time in the world to let my insecurities take center stage as I stepped into the elevator, feeling it jerk to life seconds later. The trip to the third floor was mercifully brief; I stepped into the hallway, feeling my gut do more than one flip as I ticked off the numbers until I stood outside three oh five, the door was open, Jill sleeping peacefully in the plush looking bed.

I took a deep breath and crossed the threshold, grabbing the uncomfortable looking chair and carrying it to Jill's bedside, spinning it so I'd have something to lean on. I knocked one of the legs against the bed frame, wincing a little, sure I'd woken her up.

I wasn't ready yet.

Jill slept on, eyes closed, lips parted slightly, her still dirty hair had fallen across her face, the hospital gown wasn't even close to flattering… She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. More so at that moment because of how close I'd come to losing her.

My heart ached a little because as soon as she woke up, I might lose her all over again. I leaned on the back of the chair and realized I was okay with that; she would live, if she lived and hated my guts, I could deal. I yawned in spite of myself, shifting to get comfortable on the hard-backed chair, letting my head drop onto my crossed forearms, suddenly exhausted.

I let my eyes drift closed, Jill's soft breathing served as a sweet lullaby.

The ax split the birch round with a satisfying "Thwack," I'd been tapped to help Dad get some wood done for the winter while Mom and Jill cooked dinner. They'd taken to each other like ducks to water, thoroughly allaying any fears Jill might have had, even now I could hear them giggling as they sliced vegetables, the soft sound drifting out of the open kitchen window.

I set the ax down, rolling my shoulders; it'd been too long since I'd done this kind of work; it really helped a guy center himself.

Dad walked up, two beers in his hand, he offered me one with a smile, I twisted the top off and held it out, he gently tapped his to mine, "Ya know, boy, you did good. I'm so proud of you."

I smiled, "Thanks, man, not sure what you're talking about, but I'll take it."

He chuckled, "Jill, I'm talking about Jill, she's a great girl, easy on the eyes and everything."

I gave him a mock scowl, "Easy there, old man, I'll rat you out to Mom in a second, lotta land out here."

He laughed now, at the murderous implication, "I've had a good run."

I sat on the block, watching the sun slowly slip behind the horizon, "I gotta tell you Pop, I feel like I won one, she's amazing, and the job is great. This second chance thing is working, and I don't know what to do, now that shit's not constantly exploding around me."

He laid a hand on my shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze, "I'll tell you what you do, son, you live, you let that girl in there be what she is, let her love you and love her back. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see she's suffered too. So you live and lean on each other. You've both earned a rest."

I leaned into my Dad with a soft smile on my face, "Thanks Dad, Love you, man."

He pulled me into a side-hug, "Love you too, boy."

"Guys!" Mom called from the door, "Food's ready!"

"Get your self in here, I made stuff!" Came Jill's muffled voice.

I looked up at Dad, grinning, "They're playing our song, bud."

He grinned right back, turning away and heading for the door, "C'mon then, gotta keep the boss happy."

I turned back to the sunset, a smile on my face.

It was time to live.

I woke softly, still in the shitty hospital chair, blinking to clear my little nap from my eyes.

Just in time to see Jill shift in her sleep, her eyes suddenly shot open, she was halfway out of her bed before she managed to stop herself, terror etched on her face. I was out of my chair, but I didn't move; I just stood there; with all my heart, I wanted to hold her and chase away whatever she was seeing.

But I just stood there, paralyzed. Up until now, it had been Schrodinger's Cat; if I didn't hear her say that she never wanted to see me again, there was hope. I was seconds away from finding out how she felt, and it scared me to my core.

Her breathing slowed, her eyes lost that dilated look of pure terror, and she finally looked around.

Her eyes, those eyes that had kept me alive and driven me crazy for months, locked on me, in my brand new Multicam getup, shaking like a leaf.

Every emotion in the book crossed her face in a flash, pain, anger, sadness, confusion. I watched her cycle through them as she stared into my eyes.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, when a voice behind me cut across our little non-verbal meltdown.

"He didn't do it, Jill, he was never working with Wesker."

Becca to the fucking rescue.

I turned, and there she was, leaning on the doorframe, "His CIA friends filled me in on him," She jerked her head in my direction, "He was chief of external security, he was in charge of checking ID's and keeping the grounds safe, and when he got the idea that they were unethical, he quit."

The little thing strolled into the room, "Wesker said whatever he had to in order to break us, and it worked. But I'm telling you the truth, Jill, don't let him win." Becca's eyes turned pleading at the end, and I saw the kid that just wanted her friends to be friends again, to regain some semblance of normalcy after the hell we'd been through.

Jill took a breath, shuddering and ragged, her eyes flicked from Rebecca to me and back. Finally, she spoke, and no matter how scared I was, that husky rasp was music to my ears.

"Is it true?"

I nodded shakily, "I worked the grounds, my guys checked ID's and handed out parking tickets, I never knew what they were doing, and when I found out it was more than just building better aspirin, I didn't stick around to find out the whole story. I left Jill, and that's gonna haunt me forever; I should've burned that fucking place to the ground.

I shook my head sadly, all of my regrets rushing out into the open, "I should've told you when Becca handed us the package, but we were in it, right smack in the middle; I never thought Wesker would pull that out of his ass, trying to break us apart before he died. I'm sorry, Jill I'm so sorry that I-"

"No."

It felt like someone punched me in the chest; my worst nightmares were coming true; I took a breath to steady myself, to tell her she'd never have to see me again.

But she continued, her voice low and deadly, her eyes blazing even as they welled up with tears.

"You don't apologize to me, ever. You're my best friend; you let go of everything in your past and trusted me with everything that matters. And I let that crazy asshole put all of that in jeopardy. You had my back, and I let you down."

Her expression cracked around the edges, tears falling as she pulled her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around them, rocking gently.

I felt tears creep into the edges of my vision, there was no right way out of this mess, the damage was done, and I prayed that we could pick up the pieces. I took a knee next to the bed. I tried to say something, anything, but nothing would come out. I'd waited for this for months, prayed for it, ran over and over it in my mind. But as I watched Jill come apart in front of my eyes, I had no words.

So I did what I got paid to do and took action, climbing onto the bed, Jill flinched away from me, but I caught her wrists and pulled her against me, blood and everything else crusting my gear, she hesitated for a heartbeat before relenting, spilling into me like water, pressing her forehead into mine. The warmth from her chased the last months away, and my grip tightened, crushing her against me as I shook, tremors running the length of me. The scent of her skin, the feel of her body, I took it all in, and it eroded the control I was trying so desperately to hold onto.

I stared into her eyes, those same blue pools that had captured me and held on tight all those months ago.

"I love you, Jill, nothing and no one will ever change that."

Her eyes slid closed, tears leaking down her beautiful face, her arms slowly encircled my neck as she cried.

Then she surged forward and captured my lips with hers.

Click.

A piece of my soul snapped back into place.

I kissed her back with equal force, tears mixing on our faces. Joy flooded through me, pure and unbridled. My grip on her only got tighter when I realized this wasn't a dream.

She broke the kiss, but only for a moment, to whisper the sweetest words I'd ever heard.

"I love you, Mike."

I could hear Becca crying softly behind us, as I kissed Jill with everything I had left.

Dad and I walked into the house, the smell of dinner wafting through the air. Mom and Jill were already sitting down, waiting for us, Jill's wide smile when we locked eyes brought a smile out of me, "Hey baby."

"Hey yourself," She pushed my chair out, and I slid into it, her hand finding mine under the table. I looked over at her as she laughed at something Mom said, absolutely besotted, lovestruck, as her blue eyes flashed with humor, her smile sending waves of warmth into the depths of my soul.

Dinner rolled on, conversation flowed, jokes and stories were told, but I only had eyes for Jill.

"Go! Oh, C'mon! He was safe!" Jill shouted from the couch, her and Dad were up to their asses in the ball game while I helped Mom with the dishes.

Mom nudged my shoulder, "I like her."

I snorted, "I knew that, Ma."

She looked serious all of a sudden, "I had a thought when you guys got here. It's odd, the way she moves around you when you guys are walking, she shifts, you can barely notice it unless you really squint. It took me a minute to realize she's covering you, watching your blind spots, she puts herself between you and other people, and I'm not sure she realizes it."

"She protects you, and you do the same for her. I thought I liked her but seeing the way you two are with one another? A blind person could see how much she loves you, and it warms the cockle's big-time kiddo. For what it's worth, I approve."

I felt a wave of emotion at Mom's earnest words, words I knew were not to be taken lightly. I glanced over my shoulder at Jill doing the victory dance as the Rockies pulled ahead, Dad shaking his head with a mock scowl.

A smile spread across my face, "She's something special, that's for sure."