Something was scratching softly down the side of Jill's cheek before she opened her eyes into the dawn of the new morning. Raising her eyes upwards, she gave a hazy smile to see Carlos pulling back his head while he stared down at her.
"Well, good morning," he bid in a rough voice.
Jill let out a grunt and turned her face into his chest when she shut her eyes again.
Morning people were the worst. Even if they were tall, handsome, and used their beards to cuddle someone awake.
Carlos' laugh vibrated from his chest and Jill let out a huff.
"You always were way too chipper in the mornings," Alex's voice came from across the room.
"That's because I didn't have to scoop animal shit first thing," Carlos retorted while he rubbed his fingers across Jill's exposed skin from where her shirt had ridden up on her side.
Jill felt when Carlos began fiddling with something to his left and then he pulled away. When she lifted her head, she noticed the small amount of blood from the IV line he had taken out of his hand. Trailing eyes had her following the tubing to the now-empty bag that was hanging from the pole.
"Be right back," he said before he laid her gently against the bed.
Jill rolled into a sitting position and squinted up at him before she looked over at the other three men who were staring back. Hair was tumbling down her shoulders in frizzy waves.
"Uh," Alex called hesitantly. "Hey there, sunshine…"
Jill cut her violet eyes to him, and he held his hands up before he turned his head away with a giggle erupting from his lips.
"You tucked me in last night," Pedro said in a morning greeting.
"You sleep like a six-year-old," Jill explained in a deadpan.
"That he does," Alex snickered before he too was standing to stretch.
"Doctor should be here soon," David said and nearly looked and sounded as grumpy as she did. He was staring down at his watch.
At least she wasn't alone in this.
Knowing she should get out of the way, Jill wondered if Alonzo would be awake at this time. Misery did love company after all.
Carlos was coming back around the corner and soon a cup of coffee was being placed in her hand.
Jill hummed when he sat back down and gave her a warm look, as if he knew exactly what he had just done. She didn't hesitate to melt back into his side, and she also didn't miss the pleased look on his face from the corner of her eye when she took her first sip.
"This almost makes up for…" she began to say but trailed off due to their audience.
"Nah, it doesn't," Carlos' hand was squeezing her leg from atop the blankets. "But I'll work on that apology later."
His gaze attached itself to her nervously bobbing throat before that satisfied look lifted to her eyes again. He lifted his own coffee cup to his lips and Jill could still see the male pride marking his features even then.
With her feet curled under her, Jill continued to wake up with coffee in hand and her side pressed into Carlos'. The men were talking quietly amongst one another while Madris came over to check Carlos' hand.
When Madris pulled the bandage back, Jill leaned over to view the missing left pinkie and ring finger. They had been cut off at the knuckle of the fingers themselves. Half of both digits remained and for all he had been through, they looked like they were in the early stages of healing. The doctor would need to keep cutting the dead tissue away today.
"Not the prettiest sight, but I'll consider myself lucky," Carlos muttered after he glanced over at her.
"You only need those two other fingers and the thumb anyway," Jill said in English before she climbed to her feet.
Carlos gave her a startled look.
"For?" He drew out the vowel in the word with his curiosity.
"I'll see you when you get done with the doctor, Carlos." She gave a subtle smile, sipped her coffee again, and stood to her feet.
Carlos' laughter was ringing in her head for hours after.
Unsurprisingly, Alonzo had his own quirks that were separate from his brother. One of them being that he was not a morning person.
The sun was peeking over the tips of the houses on the east side of the village as Jill found her stiff form climbing the steps of his home across the way from Carlos' house. Her middle knuckle split slightly when she rapped against the wood of the door, and she glanced down at the speck of blood on her hand with a frown while she waited to hear the weighted steps of the inhabitant.
"Go," A groggy and muffled voice called from beyond the door. "Away."
"Alonzo," Jill called sweetly. The coffee had awoken the odd sense of humor she possessed, and she wanted nothing more than to tether it to her newfound friend at 6 a.m. "Sucks to be popular. Come on, open the door."
"If I get out of this bed, Rhamnusia you're not gonna like it. The bugs aren't even awake yet, woman! Go away!"
No stranger to flirting with death, Jill knocked again and was biting the inside of her cheek when she finally heard the thump of feet hitting the floor.
The door whirled open, and Jill felt a small twinge of worry at the wild-haired, younger man before her.
What Alonzo shared with his brother was an imposing height, a frame that accented the muscle he held, and one hell of a scowl when he was displeased. The only unthreatening thing about him at the moment was how absolutely terrible his bed hair was in the morning.
Jill tried to bite the inside of her cheek a little harder to keep from smiling, but the wobbling of her lips soon gave her away.
"Oh," Alonzo snarled while he placed a hand on the door frame and leaned toward her. "Is something funny?"
Jill shook her head and tilted her face to the ground while she finally let the smile slip.
"Do you have any idea what fucking time it is?" He seethed.
"Sorry," Jill's voice shook around the mirth in her chest. "I left my watch in my other pants."
"Alright, you know what?" Alonzo was dropping his hand from the door when he stepped toward her. "You want to wake me up? Fine, but you can help put me back to sleep." His form folded in front of her before he scooped her up around the back of the legs and easily tossed over his shoulder.
Unbecomingly, Jill let out a squawking sound as her world was suddenly disoriented.
"No!" she sputtered while spitting her hair from her mouth. "Alonzo, don't you dare. Put me down!"
"We both know if you wanted down, you'd be down already." Alonzo snickered before he turned and began to walk into his house with her in tow. The door slammed behind them.
"Okay, I'm sorry—" Jill was laughing now before she spotted the bed he was carrying her towards. "For God's sake put me down before I do hurt you."
Alonzo let out a deep sigh before he did as she asked and set her gently on her feet. When he stood back up, he still had a pissed off look in his eye, but the small smile at the corner of his mouth was a telling sight.
"What the hell are you doing if you're not looking for a spooning partner?" Alonzo asked while he sat back on his bed and ran his hands through his messy hair.
"For the record, little spoon," Jill teased while she straightened her grey camisole. "I am your brother's cuddle buddy. I also got kicked out of the healer's house because the doctor is here."
A smile finally found its way onto Alonzo's face while he pressed his forearms onto the tops of his thighs.
"Were you cuddling with my brother this morning, Jill?" He asked softly. "About time. Does that mean you've decided to stay with us?"
Jill picked up a shirt that was laying across the seat of a wicker chair and she hung it on the back end before she sat.
"I—" His blue-green eyes were studying the sudden nervous flaring expression she could feel twisting her features. She was looking back down at her hands when she swallowed the words that wanted to come out first.
She tried again, "I want to, Alonzo. This place is…"
"I'm sure you're used to a little bit more… resources." Alonzo's voice took on a slower cadence and when Jill looked up, she swore she could see a little worry in his eyes. "But we get along fine here and if you'd like to give it a chance—"
"I love it here," she blurted, causing Alonzo to stop. "I don't care about resources. I had all the technology and free services available to me and I felt like I was connected to everything but still felt nothing."
Alonzo was still watching her carefully and Jill turned her eyes away.
"Truth is, I've lived in a lab for the past four years now. I hear the clicking of… machines in my sleep. Even when I got back to America, they gave me my own room away from all that. All I could hear was the clicking every time I was awake. The clicking and his voice." Jill let out a breath and finally looked back up at Alonzo.
"Will you tell me what happened to you?" he asked so softly it nearly broke Jill's heart.
She had told Carlos, but she hadn't had the time nor the trust to tell Alonzo much in the beginning. Even without that, the younger man who looked on at her now had still followed her towards death. Whether it was because he knew her name from his brother, or he had been desperate, Jill knew the situation was different now. Alonzo had become a friend and someone who she wanted to know.
To understand.
"After Raccoon City, Michigan, when I departed from your brother…" And so, Jill spoke.
There were moments where she would pause to find the words or to wipe her cheeks, but she didn't stop. Much like when she told Carlos, she was honest in what she had done—had been made to do—and how there wasn't anyone left to hold accountable. Yet, the violation still felt unresolved; Albert Wesker was dead, and she still felt like it wasn't enough.
"Do you still hear his voice? Albert Wesker's?" Alonzo had been quiet the entire time, but his face held no anger, no pity, and no signs he could see what it was that lived beneath her skin. He simply just held a space open for her and listened.
"No," Jill was struck by the question, and she closed her eyes for a moment while she thought. "I haven't heard his voice since I rescued Carlos."
The scrape of bare feet on the floor had Jill opening her eyes to look up and when she did, Alonzo was kneeling in front of her while his intense gaze peered into hers. His hands were curling around the front legs of the chair, and with a simple flex of his arms, he pulled her seat closer until her knees were hitting his chest.
"Why did you come here, Jill?" he asked.
Even in a kneel, Alonzo's long frame had his eyeline level with hers while she sat. Much like Carlos, the youngest brother also had a way of searching through someone's soul with a simple look.
"You know why," she whispered.
"I know you chose to come here to find Carlos because of what his memory did, but I want to know why you sought the man you hadn't seen in 12 years when there should have been people around you—People who loved you, waiting for your return." He kept his hands on chair legs, but he was leaning forward slightly when he spoke.
"I had Chris, my partner, but that wasn't…" she trailed off for a moment. "I didn't have anyone like that, Alonzo. I left because there wasn't anything keeping me there. None of what was supposed to be my 'home' held any meaning to me after what I had done. I couldn't stop thinking about 1998. About what I…let get away from me."
"Carlos," Alonzo confirmed.
Alonzo seemed pleased with her answer because he tilted his head with a soft smile before he continued, "And so now, you're going to stay, torture me by getting me up before the earth is warm, and continue to make my brother the happy bastard he is currently?"
"Not just your brother, Alonzo. The people here, the connection everyone has; it's something I haven't had in a long time." Jill explained while she felt compelled to stare into his eyes with him so close. With that came another truth. "Do you know, you're the first friend I've made in over 12 years? Aside from those I worked with, I haven't had someone who was a friend at first. I want to keep that, and I'm not sure if I deserve—"
"Shut up, Jill," he interrupted. "Do you know how much I've heard of Jill Valentine?"
Jill lifted her brows.
"Carlos wasn't quite the same when he came back but I never told him that because I got my brother back, you know?" As Alonzo spoke, he was looking down toward Jill's knees while he now shared parts of their own story. "I had lost everyone but him and all I knew for years was that he was in America. When he came back, he carried on just like he had never left, but there was something different in between the silences. When he spoke about you—"
Alonzo lifted his eyes back to hers.
"When Carlos spoke of you, Jill Valentine, he was always home. I saw my brother and I saw what you had woken in him when he had only known you for days. Something about you brought him back to the surface. He wasn't just a man carrying out what was expected of him—what we had been raised to do. I happen to think it's because you don't turn away from atrocities, Jill. From what I've heard and seen, you face them. You face them and it's no wonder you remember them so vividly that you literally convince yourself you deserve nothing."
Jill was shaking her head slowly with her mouth working.
"Yes," Alonzo was nodding at her while his hands were tightening on the wicker legs of the chair, and it caused a crackle to sound below them. "You can have all of this. You can stay and you can choose to hear our voices instead because none of us would ever allow you to see yourself as anything but what you truly are."
Her face finally crumpled, and she was letting out a soft sob as her chest felt like it would cave at the gratitude she felt.
"And what's that?" she rasped.
"Ours," Alonzo said simply, and his grin lit the darkness of the room and in her very soul.
Jill's hands were digging into Alonzo's shoulders when she leaned herself forward in the chair and pulled him into a hug.
Somewhere in her history, before her father had left and before her mother had passed away, Jill's concept of home had been lost to a palisade of duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice. A vengeance personified, she hadn't stopped, she hadn't quit, and she hadn't noticed when she traded her own identity in the process.
She had saved Chris Redfield's life when she had thrown herself out that window with Wesker in tow, but if she was honest, she had been in her own freefall for years before that.
"That being said," Alonzo continued into her hair while Jill's mind raced. "If you ever wake me up this early again, I swear to God, Jill."
Jill didn't know if it was his inflection or the timing of his humor but all the same, the cackle that slipped from her mouth was ugly and deep when it shook her shoulders.
Alonzo was pulling his face away from her head with his own laugh.
"Hey, hey," he said, gripping her shoulders now. "Don't do that."
"Do what?" she uttered with a wide smile now across her features.
"Don't smile like that." Alonzo said, watching her with a knowing look.
"Oh, yeah?" she asked when her laughter finally came to a stop.
"You keep smiling like that, you may never want to leave." He answered softly.
"Too late, Alonzo," she returned just as softly. "Too late."
Just after 10 a.m., Carlos found himself slipping quietly from the healer's house with the promise of his men that they'd run interference for when Madris returned. The coffee wasn't mixing well with his new medication, and he would look to that first if anyone asked about the anxious way he seemed to be watching for a glimpse of their esteemed guest.
Rosha was walking past when he rounded the bend for the houses. Her young face lit up when she saw him and her greeting in Aymara was soft.
"Should you be walking around?" the young girl asked with a pointed look.
"Probably not," Carlos responded with an easy shrug. "I think there's literally something about turning the other cheek though, so…" he pointed to his cheek and made eyes in the opposite direction.
Rosha let out a small laugh and bowed her head before she said, "Are you looking for Velaria?"
"Always am," he said with ease and took pleasure in her familiarity to Jill's other name. "You seen her?"
"She was at Alonzo's home for a little while," Rosha confirmed. Carlos' eyes darted ahead towards his brother's home. "But I believe she's back in your home now."
Why did that bring him such a rush of pleasure? Of course Jill would befriend his younger brother in their time working together. Carlos' hadn't ever been very possessive—it was a hard life to manage when you had so many siblings and so many people to look after.
However, when it came to Jill…
"They're just friends," Rosha said, seeming to read his mind or maybe just his open expression.
"I know," Carlos said, looking back toward her. "Hey, stay out of my head, alright?" His large hand was ruffling her hair when he finally limped past.
"I asked when she was listening to stories last night. I also noticed she didn't return to the home she was provided, Carlos." Rosha called after him teasingly.
"I'm gettin' shit from a 15-year-old," Carlos muttered to himself while he waved her off. Her tinkering laugh followed his steps. "I've lost control of my life."
When he was finally climbing the steps to his home, he felt slightly unsteady on his feet before he reached for the door. Taking a deep breath, he twisted the handle and pushed it open. Violet eyes met his to the direct left when he realized Jill had a gun in her hand.
"Hey," he uttered.
"Didn't realize you'd be allowed to leave the healer's house so early." she greeted while she wiped the cloth over the piece in her hand. She was cleaning his two guns he had left on the shelf.
Actually…
Carlos blinked once before his eyes skittered around the now tidied up home. His dirty clothes had been separated from the clean ones he usually kept near the wall where the couch was catty cornered in. The layer of dust that had built up on the surfaces had been removed, as had the dirt and other debris from the floor. His dishes had been rearranged and neatly placed on the tiny rack he had built so many years ago. The few books he had were finally rearranged on the opposing wall from the door. Even from his position, he could see the bathroom had been reorganized.
"Did you—" Carlos let his teeth show in his next smile before he tilted his head back to her. "Did you clean my house, Jill?"
Jill let out a snort while she oiled the barrel of his Baretta. He was watching her easy gestures carefully. She looked comfortable and at ease.
"Figured it was probably the least I could do to allow me room and board. Besides, I kind of made a mess that first night after I brought you back here." Jill set the parts of the gun down and met his look with one of her own.
When he turned to look at the room around them again, he caught her scoping study roaming his form in the corner of his eye.
"Guess I'll continue our little arrangement then. You do look well rested, after all." he closed the door behind him.
"You going to read me a story when I have a bad dream too, Carlos?" she asked, meeting the challenge in his gaze.
"Far as I can tell, Supercop," he said carefully while he stepped toward her. "You don't have bad dreams when you sleep in my arms."
It had been just over a day since she had come back into his life and Carlos suspected it would take a lifetime to be able to notice all of her subtle tells, but he didn't need years to view the slight change of interest in her eyes then. Her mouth parted slightly as if her next response was going to be immediate but died on her tongue.
Carlos was studying her features then. Hair color aside, the passing of years and the gaunt reality of her situation had taken some of the roundedness of her face from when he had seen her last. Jill Valentine had been a sight to behold even when she was covered in wounds and dirt. The vision of her now was nothing in comparison.
The body he held against his for the last two nights was supple muscle and a delicate bone structure, but she had yielded to him all the same. Hands he had watched kill men in seconds did nothing but cradle him gently. Even in their first altercation when she had been trying to run, Carlos had been worried for a moment that they were going to come down to physical blows when he had tried to stop her retreat.
However, Jill hadn't hurt him. In fact, it appeared as if she would have rather hurt herself before that was ever an option.
Deep blue, nearly purple, eyes stared up at him now. The contrast from her pale skin casting a glow in her iris was both beautiful as it was intimidating. The soft cupid's bow of her lips slightly highlighted the devious curl of her mouth when she smiled.
"Am I wrong?" he asked when he took another step closer to her and then stumbled.
Jill's hand snapped out and latched onto his bicep.
"No," she answered while she steadied him on his feet. "I don't think you are, but if you're not careful, you're going to be extending that time in that healing house. Sit down, smooth operator."
Carlos didn't have it in him to be embarrassed while she carefully led him over to his couch and helped him sit. He was too busy with the genuine pleasure he held from the way she checked him over.
"Your cuts are healing nicely. That doctor of yours and Madris are something else," she commented when her hand touched the bandages peeking out from the sleeve of his shirt. Her fingers were soft when they trailed the bronze colored skin of his arm.
She stood up from her inspection and raised a brow while he remained silent and looked up at her.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm real glad you're here," he admitted in a soft tone.
"Had to return the favor, didn't I?" she responded quietly.
"No," his hand reached out for hers and she allowed him to take it. "You really didn't but I'd take your favor regardless."
Jill squeezed his hand and finally looked a little bashful when she turned her eyes to the ground and smiled.
"You just want me to clean your house," she surmised.
"Well, I mean, when in Rome or some shit like that. You do as you think is best, Valentine." Her quiet chuckle was his reward before she let go of his hand and moved toward a pile of her clothes that was sitting near the duffle bag she had brought.
"Well, if we're going to continue our cuddle arrangement, I think I need to figure out a wardrobe. Where do you do your laundry here?" she asked before she squatted down to sort through the clothes.
"Down the road from here. You'll see the checkered flag outside. Muni is usually running it but given your hero status here, I doubt she'll let you do your own clothes." Carlos answered while he watched her.
"While you're down there." Carlos also couldn't help wanting to fuck with her a bit. Jill glanced back with a raised brow and watched as he pushed a pile of his clothes toward her with his booted foot. "Could you, uh..."
"Carlos, how badly do you want to be back at optimum health in a timely fashion?" Her death threat was delivered blandly.
Carlos grinned wide, clearly joking but he really did love her meaner side.
"C'mon, this is what—oof" A balled up shirt hit him in the head, and he started to laugh before he ripped the clothing from his face. "But Jill, this is what your American sitcoms advertise!"
"Stuff it, Oliveira," Jill cracked a grin before she stood. "You're gonna have to give me something before I scrub your clothes."
"Ugh," he groaned, leaning back into the couch with a hand over a seemingly wounded heart. "What is the point of domestication when I can't expect life's simple pleasures?"
"Who said you're even domesticated? You sleep on a toy couch." Jill stood when she finished piling her dirty clothes in her hands.
"Hey," he pointed at her with a serious look on his face now. "You don't diss the couch. It's better than the floor and if memory serves you weren't complaining about it when you woke up the other morning."
"Mmm," she cast out with a side eye his way. "I've slept in weirder places that's for sure."
"I'll just ask one of the nice village ladies to help me. They're always so sweet about it." Carlos had been rubbing his eyes as he spoke and when he heard the bang of his front door, he lowered his hand to find her gone.
He realized he may have pushed her too far.
Carlos made to stand up to go after her but paused when he noticed his missing pile of clothes.
"So," he murmured out loud to himself with a growing smile. "Supercop has a jealous side too. Alright, better not overextend that." He gestured a hand into the now empty room before he began to chuckle to himself. "Much."
After returning to the healer's house and finally seeing the doctor once more alongside his men, Carlos entered his home for the second time that afternoon and didn't find Jill waiting inside. However, some of his clothes were hanging from the small clothesline that sat out on the front porch.
Preparing to exit the house once more, Carlos wouldn't deny the lingering anxiety that was curling in his chest whenever he couldn't find her now. In fact, he hadn't seen many of the villagers out and about when he had made his way carefully down the rows of homes once more. At that moment, he had assumed they were staying out of the ever-growing heat in the February month, but now his instincts were screaming for him to find her.
His steps under the medication were becoming more certain and Carlos only stumbled once when he tossed Alonzo's pants from his body and dressed in his own clothes. His second pair of boots were held together by duct tape on the bottom, but he didn't care when his feet slipped into the familiar comfort.
Hooking his now clean handgun into the holster on his leg, Carlos stepped back out into the afternoon sun and began to search.
Anxiety was becoming an itch along his skin when Carlos passed by each home and found them empty through the windows he peered into. He hadn't located Alonzo yet and his only hope was that his brother would also be with her and help to protect her should anything go wrong.
A shrill scream reached his ears as Carlos neared the farmlands.
It was a scream of delight and the bubbling laughter of children soon followed after it.
Circling around the farmhouse, Carlos peered out to the dry fields where they had been planning to make more plots of land viable for growth.
Circles of his people were sitting on the blankets that the women would help knit and sell back in the days when they would travel to bring Aymaras goods to tourists in the bigger towns. Corn and beans were being passed around for lunch while people spoke animatedly with smiles on their faces. Others sat watching the sight further out in front of them and they would clap and hoot every once in a while.
A few of his people were throwing sticks back and forth while a few of the mutts from the local litter ran to retrieve them.
Carlos dragged his gaze to the children running back and forth, their youthful faces lit up in glee as they all tried to dart in for the soccer ball that rolled and bounced over the uneven terrain.
In the center, trailing the ball with certain expertise, was Jill Valentine.
Her now pale hair was tied up in a ponytail and her face was free of strain while she laughed openly and darted herself with the ball around a group of the children. She had changed into black leggings and a new white tank top at some point after her bath. With grace she had always seemed to possess, she moved amongst the rest with the comfort of someone who belonged.
Two sticks had been shoved into the ground to signify a goal and Jill howled out a laugh as one of the kids kicked the ball out from her direction and began to circle back toward the goal on their side.
Carlos hadn't realized that his feet had continued to pull him forward and he found himself stopped by the rest of his people while they ate.
"Hey." Alonzo was walking up to him from the side with food in his hand. "You're looking better. Looks like Doctor Otero's work to me."
"Yeah," Carlos answered distractedly.
Alonzo snorted and followed his gaze.
"Won't lie to you," Alonzo bit into his food and he too looked on. "Had you died, I would've asked her to stay either way."
"Well, I'm not dead," Carlos shot his eyes to his brother's.
Alonzo put his hands up, and pieces of the corn flew from the cob.
"Understood," Alonzo said with a grin. "Understood, big brother."
Jill spotted him then and that toothy smile was his to consume once more.
"Time out," he could hear her call to the children. A chorus of groans followed.
Carlos attempted to keep his tongue in his mouth when she jogged up to them.
"Hey," she said, slightly out of breath. Her eyes held his. "You're looking good."
The slow smile Carlos gave her seemed to send the message he intended, and her eyes flickered in the interest he knew had been burning him alive for years.
"You guys want to play? Seems a little uneven if you ask me." Jill continued but she didn't lose that cunning smile.
"I'd probably have to sleep with one eye open if Madris caught me running right now," Carlos admitted with a sigh. His eyes trailed over to Alonzo. He leaned out and snatched the corn of the cob from his brother. "But Alonzo will have to take the honor."
"Hey!" Alonzo uttered, still chewing.
"We can't let the American beat us in soccer. Where's your head at?" Carlos asked before biting into the food.
"The Americans never beat us in soccer, what are you talking about?" Alonzo smirked when Jill raised her brows.
Alonzo was wiping his hands on his pants before he began to jog out beside Jill. The children were jumping up and down when he shouted, "Who's ready to beat the blondie?"
"Hey!" Jill uttered in mock offence.
"You're going down, Rhamnusia!" And then the laughter continued when the game started again.
Carlos found himself sitting down beside the others and he too began to eat but his gaze didn't stay far away from the sight before them all.
She looked different even from the first day he saw her—happy, lighter, and more open to the rest of the people around them. Cradled in the hands of a community, Jill seemed to thrive.
Carlos' mind began to wander while he watched the joy etch her face when she called something out to Alonzo and two of the children. Did she really not have someone to share what she had against the door of his home when she tried to run? Had she really been carrying that guilt without someone telling her what she needed to know?
"I lived and the only person I wanted to see was you when I was free." She had said to him.
"Pachamama," a voice said beside him as someone settled in.
Carlos glanced to the left and found Madris leaning over to dig into the lunch.
Ignoring the obvious sentiment for a moment, Carlos asked, "The doctor run you out?"
"Please," the wise healer muttered in Aymara. "I just leave him be and return once he leaves."
Carlos nodded before he wiped sweat from his brow. The urge to turn his head back toward Jill was a magnetic pull.
Madris seemed to understand because she gave that knowing smile and gestured her utensil toward the game ahead of them.
"Pachamama," she said again.
Pachamama, or in literal translation, the Earth Mother, was an age-old deity their people still celebrated within the Inca mythology. Today, she represented life and nature.
Carlos raised his eyebrows at Madris and waited for her to continue.
"Life," she said easily with that smile growing. "That woman brings you life. I see it in you."
"Yeah," he agreed without much grace. "She does."
"She hurts," Madris continued and rapped her knuckles against her chest.
"I know," Carlos set his food down as he spoke.
"But not with you," Madris' eyes bore into his. "She protects you. She protects us all now."
Tears that Carlos wasn't ashamed to let the woman see were clouding his eyes.
"Don't let her go." Madris' old hand was warm on his arm. "She is yours."
Carlos let out a laugh and clasped her hand when he said, "She doesn't belong to anyone, Madris."
Madris gave him one of her deep looks. Eyes that had seen much more than he could imagine studied him now. She pulled her hand out from under his and tapped his chest twice. Right over his heart.
"Yours," she bid, and stood back up with her food in hand.
Carlos watched her hobbling form before he turned his gaze back to the fields.
Jill Valentine trailed behind the rest of the pack as Alonzo led the group. The kids were shrieking in glee when he scored the next goal.
Jill put her hands on her hips and gave her attention to the jumping children around her. Her eyes cut towards him and when she saw Carlos watching her, that smile only grew.
Starlight.
Pure starlight.
When the sun reached its later position in the sky, the game came to an end as the heat encased them all. Carlos helped clean up the dishes while a few others began collecting the blankets to return to the work of the day. While he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time that everyone felt so comfortable to eat and let the children play out in the open.
Hope.
His people were showing their hope. Their comfort displayed a trust to eat and let the children roam. In much older days, the stories spoke of the same aspects when it was hunters who watched over the lands for predators. Trust in the protection of their home had allowed people to roam, to be free, and to enjoy life.
His people trusted him to keep them safe, but they also trusted Jill and Alonzo. Carlos hadn't even been outside when they had initially set up, but they did so under the watchful eyes of the pair that had brought home their family and stopped a direct threat that had been taking their women and children.
Carlos smiled to himself as he stacked the dishes and glanced over to see Alonzo and Jill talking animatedly while the children bounced around them in their walk toward the village.
"I got it," Luis, Renata's father, was clasping him on the back before he bent down to carry the dishes. "You're still healing. Don't carry things."
Carlos had bid his thanks and grasped the man's shoulder before he turned to follow behind them all.
His brows were furrowing when he noticed the dust cloud first.
A truck was pulling down the path that led to their village. Carlos frowned when he recognized Arturo's vehicle.
Carlos saw Alonzo stiffen in posture before he said something toward Jill's ear. The pair of them were striding forward after Jill leaned down and said something to the children. The group of kids were receding back.
Carlos felt pride streak through him before he began to walk quickly after them.
"You don't seem to understand directions very well, American," Arturo called out to Jill when he stepped down from the driver's seat.
"Weak leadership was never something I stomached well." Jill's stature had straightened out while she waited near the campsite in the middle of the village.
Arturo was sneering before he turned his gaze to Alonzo.
"You went through my office," he accused his brother.
"I did," Alonzo agreed. "You were withholding information based on prejudice."
"You let this American start a new war for us all!" Arturo seethed.
"No," Alonzo cut his hand through the air in his anger. "I made sure our people came home and I made sure that we didn't leave anyone behind."
Arturo went to answer before his eyes landed Carlos emerging from behind the rest of the people.
Carlos would give the man credit, he never showed fear no matter the odds, but to say there wasn't a reaction of nerves at the sight of Carlos would have been a lie. Part of Carlos also would admit that it pleased him.
"I thought I told you we would do this tomorrow. What part of that was unclear?" Carlos asked with severity making his voice deeper.
"There's activity coming from Colombia," Arturo said in a much calmer voice.
"I know," Carlos confirmed, stopping beside Jill. "We'll discuss it tomorrow."
"We can discuss it now." Arturo challenged.
"Get back in your truck and follow your damn orders," Alonzo growled with a temper less honed than the rest.
"Our people are going to continue to die under your command, Oliveira." Arturo was lifting a hand.
It was Jill who moved first. It was Jill that saw the glare of the scope before anyone else did. And it was Jill who stepped in front of him and took the bullet that was meant for Carlos.
Screams filled the air and soon the sound of gunfire disturbed the village that had felt safe enough to let their children roam only hours before. This time it hadn't been predators or gangs that had broken that trust; it had been their very own men.
The force of the shot had knocked Jill into Carlos' chest and they both went tumbling down into the dirt.
Carlos wrapped his arms around Jill and rolled on top of her while he braced up on his elbows. The cracks of a familiar rifle had him looking up toward the sounds of returning gunfire.
Doctor Otero stood on a porch, firing off shot after shot with a rifle and the hardened gaze of a killer that Carlos knew him for. Turning his head over his shoulder, Carlos took in Arturo's still form leaking blood into their soil while his eyes were turned up toward the sky. Another man who had been waiting in the truck was also down.
Silence filled the village again before the sobbing of his people was in his ears.
Carlos looked down finally to Jill Valentine's face who lay beneath him. Her eyes were shut in pain, but she was still breathing. Her blood was pooling beneath them, and there wasn't an exit wound out of her chest. The bullet had entered from her back and was still inside.
Doctor Otero was shouting something while Carlos rose and scooped his arms beneath Jill's back and knees.
"Jill," he uttered. "Jill, hang on!"
He had been here before.
Doctor Otero was waving him toward the healing house when Carlos began to run.
He had been here with her before in 1998 when that tyrant had infected her. He had said those very same words to her while she shuddered out her breaths.
Carlos was setting her down on the bed when her blood dribbled on the floor and across one of his boots. Doctor Otero pushed him out of the way when he and Madris crowded around her.
Except it had been a tyrant—a bioweapon that had taken her down. A hulking figure of great proportions. Something she shouldn't have won so easily against, but she did.
Alonzo was shouting something at him while he pulled Carlos toward the door, but he didn't hear it.
A bullet couldn't kill Jill Valentine. Simple men shouldn't be able to harm someone so strong, but they had.
"Jill," Carlos didn't realize he had been repeating her name over and over until the cries from people behind him caught his attention.
"Listen to me!" Alonzo was still beside him.
"What?" Carlos croaked, coming back to himself when the door to the healer's house closed.
"They've got her, Carlos. Doctor Otero will help Jill, but they caught one of the men alive," Alonzo uttered.
Carlos glanced back at the closed door to the house and his jaw clenched so tightly he thought one of his teeth might crack.
"Show me," he breathed.
The younger men in the village were crowded around the area of the path that was about 20 meters away from the truck. Carlos caught sight of Alex and the bandages that lined his cheeks when he looked down to see the redheaded man on his back with his hands up. Alex was clutching the rifle the man had used to fire the shot that should have ended his life.
Carlos held Alex's gaze and his man gave him a nod.
"It was meant for you," the red headed man sputtered with wide eyes. "Not her. I was just following orders. I was just—"
Carlos' large fist dug into the man's black shirt and when Carlos stood straight back up, the redhead's entire torso pulled from the dirt until only his heels were left on the ground.
Not feeling a single thing but the anger in his veins, Carlos Oliveira carried the man by his straining shirt and toward one of the empty houses on the far side of the village. The dual tracks of the man's heels left indentations in the earth like Carlos' ire left in his soul.
Jill opened her eyes and coughed when she managed to roll onto her side. An itch she knew all too well was turning into ripping pain on her back.
"Carlos?" she mumbled.
"Easy," an unfamiliar voice called beside her.
Opening her eyes, Jill slit her vision to the stranger next to her now. A man with wire rimmed glasses and grey blue eyes that reminded her of Chris Redfield stared on at her.
"I'm Doctor Otero," he introduced with a slight smile. "And allow me to welcome you back to the world of the living."
Jill let out a groan when the pain started to increase with her movement.
"I would say that it was a job well done on my part and you're going to be fine but part of that would be a lie, wouldn't it?" The doctor spoke evenly.
Jill glanced back toward the man then and he gave her an odd look.
"I suppose it would," she acquiesced quietly. She could feel the skin knitting together slowly even as they spoke.
"I removed the bullet and imagine my surprise when the tissue started to close around my fingers." Doctor Otero continued before he took off his glasses and began to clean them with the shirt that had splatters of blood along the lapel.
"Where's Carlos?" she asked when she tried to push herself up from her chest.
The doctor watched her for a few moments more while he cleaned his spectacles.
"What are you?" he asked.
Jill glanced around at the beds and none of the men or Carlos were present. It was just her and the doctor.
"Is he alright?" Jill demanded when she turned her violet eyes on the doctor once more.
Doctor Otero looked back and forth between her eyes and the way he regarded her seemed to be a constant theme since she had come to the country.
Rhamnusia they all whispered that cursed last name.
She hated it and when she had asked if the kids wanted to play a game earlier in the day, her moments of carefree fun had made Jill feel closer to human than she had ever felt in her entire life.
Jill was tired of being a name, she was tired of the legacy brought upon by the previous pharmaceutical company's downfall, she was tired of her title within the BSAA, and she was tired of wearing the name that Trent had claimed was her calling card among the syndicates.
Jill just wanted what that field gave her. More so, as she laid there staring into the eyes of the doctor, she wanted what had waited for her across the field when Carlos Oliveira couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her.
She had stood next to Carlos in the center of the village, and she had known an altercation was going to happen sooner or later. She hadn't quite expected the betrayal of his men, but then again, she really should have.
The glint of the scope had hit her eye, and Jill had realized one thing in stark clarity while she stepped into the shot.
Through odds and distance of years, she had spent her time building up an image that she loved of Carlos Oliveira. It had been an avatar of who he was, but it had been an honest one, nonetheless. Her search for him after her freedom had been foolhardy and without a real basis other than idolization and a pedestal she truly did hold him on; he was her savior.
However, in the matter of days—hours really—Carlos' true form had stepped through and smashed that avatar she had of him and showed her how much better the real thing could be.
Yes, she was tired of her names and her titles, but she was tired of living a life in her head and following the wrong path to feeling like she was doing the right things in life.
The best decision she had ever made happened to be the foolhardy one that led her to South America.
Led her right to him.
"He's fine physically," Doctor Otero seemed to be reading everything across her face while his features softened. "But Carlos has lost a lot. We all have. And you…"
With a reaching hand, Jill touched the bandage at her back before she pushed herself up. The doctor had removed her shirt and bra, but his eyes never left hers while she gingerly reached for the sullied bra that had been preserved. Her previous top was a lost cause.
"Years ago, I was infected by a genetically engineered virus," Jill wet her lips while she spoke. "I was immunized before I could fall to further symptoms but a mutant strain of it survived and laid dormant."
Doctor Otero was handing her his brown coat and Jill took it with a look of gratitude while she continued to speak.
"I nearly died 4 years ago, and while in a comatose state, the virus reactivated again before my body fought it off. I was then experimented on with more mutant strains of that virus." Her eyes were filtering around the room. "Some of the side effects remain."
"And what are those?" The doctor's voice had gone quieter.
"Cell regeneration," Jill confirmed carefully. "It's not as advanced at what the initial strain was supposed to do, but it reanimates dead tissue at a slower pace than normal. In short, I am not contagious, but I am very hard to kill, doctor." Her voice sharpened when she met his eyes again.
"Where is Carlos?" she demanded again and left no room for further distractions.
"At home," Doctor Otero stood to his feet then, as if to move out of her way. "I wouldn't let him in here. He gets…emotional when he can't do something to help."
Jill stood to her feet and found her balance while she pulled the overcoat that the doctor provided closed.
"Thank you for helping me and this village," Jill said when she walked up beside him. He faced the bed while she now faced the door to the village.
"This is my village too and I will always help," the doctor replied carefully. "I will also keep this information to myself, Rhamnusia."
Jill gave a jerky nod before she stepped away from him.
"But," he called.
Jill stopped.
"You should tell Carlos at least," the doctor supplied. "And…you have bled for this village twice now."
Her chin dipped over her shoulder while she viewed the man with different eyes.
"I will not forget it, and neither will they. Thank you." The doctor held her eyes and Jill understood she was looking at a soldier too.
She let her lips pull into a smile and this time she bowed her head in respect before she exited the house and toward Carlos.
Jill had expected a lot of things in her short life through unlucky experiences in her law enforcement career and beyond. Had someone told her she would be held in reverence one day she would have asked for a toxicology report and thorough mental examination of the accuser.
However, the upturned faces that were waiting for her outside of the healer's house were full of tears and happiness to see her up. Words from the language she didn't know were gracing her ears as hands touched her arms when she passed.
She paused and kneeled down to the young children she had played games with only hours ago and gave them the brightest smile.
"Rhamnusia," The whispers of her title circled around her.
"War and pestilence wherever you go. Nothing but loathsome humans." Jill found herself recalling her former captain's voice with her own volition. Usually, it came without warning and without any self-advocacy.
Albert Wesker hadn't been entirely wrong when he chased a godhood linked with genetically modified viruses and parasites.
Human nature can be filled with hatred, selfishness, and greed. With the power he had created to rise above that, he failed to notice what the strongest motivators for mankind were. More powerful than hate, more powerful than weapons, and absolutely more powerful than anything he probably ever calculated for.
Hope and the human connection. Love and everything it did to bring people to protect one another.
Jill Valentine stood with the many hands on her, and she accepted the title for the first time as they bid the name out.
Rhamnusia—The Nemesis.
What could Wesker have accomplished had he understood where the greatest portions of humanity resided? What would he have changed if he had chosen to protect humanity instead of destroying it?
Jill had been remade as a weapon to serve a purpose much different than her own.
A weapon to destroy.
But as she rose to her feet and let the hands of Carlos' people fall away, she realized how it would serve her now.
She would protect these people until she died. The title Rhamnusia was just a name and little did she know that she would have many names in her years to come.
Alonzo was sitting on the porch of Carlos' home when she approached. He leapt to his feet with his mouth opening and closing.
"How are you—" he uttered, running up to her. When his hands joined the promises on her skin along with the people of the village, Jill couldn't help the smile she gave. "Jill, Doctor Otero didn't know if you were going to make it. You had lost so much blood."
She said nothing as she walked past, climbed the few steps to the house, and reached for the door handle. With her purpose in stark clarity, Jill swung open the door carefully, and looked for the man who she wanted to keep most of all.