Clock would not stop ticking, nor would time stop going by. It was one of those times when Jill was torn between feeling rapturous and despondent. Her mind would suddenly flash with impossible wild daydreams like the mad, things only those in love hankered for, dreams that could never reach realization, most probably because their relationship was one-sided. Her compressed chest was the only source of her warmth, and she continued to breathe shakily in the dark for a few more minutes before wiping under her eyes with an index finger.
After taking off the magnificent night gown and the accessories that came with it, Jill quickly wore a dark blue tank top and shrugged into her black jacket which was as light as a feather. She rushed downstairs, trying hard to suppress her quaky sniffles, hoping to get to her own flat, creep under the cool sheets, stare at the glow of candle stubs on champagne glasses, desperately contemplate everything that had happened, everything that she was, and the point that she would be headed next. Most of all, Jill needed a force to keep her sanity, willpower, and conscience all together in a firm metal box, as most of the time she felt one of them was slipping out of her grip into a large sieve. For a second she took some hesitant steps toward the door, coming to a sudden halt. The sound of his approaching footsteps echoed through the front hall.
"Jill… were you going without goodbye?"
"No…I was about to come." Jill murmured in a choked up voice, trying to clear her throat. "Damn, this freezing weather…" she pretended to be catching a cold, coughing into her sleeve, hoping that Chris wouldn't notice. She knew her slightly bloodshot eyes would betray her though.
"You alright?" Chris asked gently, with a voice that would make red flowers bloom straight away. He had actually noticed.
"Yeah, only if I'm not going down with the flu. I have some kind of sore throat." She touched her throat, feigning sickness.
Chris said nothing and just stared at her for a moment,
He's not gonna believe me, I'm sure of that. Shame on me for lying like this!
Shortly after, he walked toward a hanger somewhere further in the hall, coming back with something hanging from his hands.
"Here take this." He said from behind her, his warm breaths tickling the nape of her neck as he pulled the long black winter coat over her shoulders.
"Thanks, partner." Jill said, stretching her hand in the sleeve, squirming slightly to make it stay fit.
"I really hope you're not catching a cold, are you?" Chris asked incredulously.
"Catching a cold is totally fine if it gives me an off day."
"Granting that approval to someone your rank? Quit joking Valentine. "he almost laughed.
"I'll see your face tomorrow when I sleep in my comfy bed, while you're running all around to arrange your pile of reports agent Redfield!"
"You wanna bet?" A pair of bright childlike eyes was staring at her. "At any rate, Claire and I won't stay here tonight either, we'll be heading for our own cramped apartment. To be precise, this mansion was my grandfather's. I really hope he won't haunt me for borrowing it though! "
"If he does sometime, lead him to me. Guess I owe you one for this whole night. Pretty much fit for a king. "Jill said as she pulled out a handkerchief and brought it up to her nose.
"Don't mention it, Jill. Do you want me to drive ya home? This weather, it's…" he tried his best to find a proper excuse,
"You'll get wet."
"Since when has rain been too much of a hindrance, Chris?" Jill's chapped lips came to a playful smirk.
"A hindrance to your career, remember catching a cold?"
"Oh, don't you dare worry about my career! "She chuckled softly, "but lead the way if you insist!"
They were both at the front door in a flash.
"Ladies first!" Chris motioned Jill out.
"God Chris!" she sighed in frustration ", you still believe in that?!"
"What? You're not a fan of courtesy, Jill?" he joked as Jill walked out.
"Courtesy?! Only if it doesn't get in people's hair!"
"I really can't understand why it gets in your hair." He grabbed an umbrella at the last minute, holding it above their heads after unfurling it.
"For some reason …" she murmured, walking in front of Chris.
"Your contingency plans are terrific. Were you expecting all this rain?" Jill asked as their boots squelched against the mud. They barely made out the picture of his grey car in the mist.
"I trust my instincts." He said with pride, "even though Sheva was starting to have second thoughts about following me, which is understandable, I knew we were on the right track. I was sure about the picture, and I had faith in it. It was you… and we had to pursue you."
"Hey, nobody knows how long I would've been tortured in that hell if it weren't for you. So you have my thanks, always had."
Chris simply smiled in response. Fortunately, they found the car before getting soaked to death. Chris opened the door with respect, waiting for her to enter and she did so gracefully. Shutting the door closed, he went round the car to slip into the driver's seat. Thunderstorms roared in distance.
Another grisly reminder of that night.
"What about Claire?" Jill suddenly remembered with concern, "she's gonna stay here alone?"
"No, I've told Leon to pick her up. He should be there any minute."
"Jill, are you okay?"
"Yeah,"
"Are you sure that you're okay?"
"What's the difference between those two questions? I'm totally okay!"
"Sorry, didn't mean to pry. I just wanted to tell you that… we've known each other for more than ten years now… and if there's anything that's setting you off… don't hesitate to share it with me. I'll always watch your back."
Jill felt hot water rising to the surface of her eyes, and she blinked a few times to get rid of it.
"Same goes for you Chris. You can always count on me." She said, her voice steady as steel, full to the brim with unwavering loyalty.
Silence spewed in place like the dark air outside. Chris continued to drive. After getting past the small forest, which was imprisoned viciously with a damper of thick clouds, painting the sky a hollow dark grey, traffic chained them to one spot. Chris tapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel, fat droplets of rain landed on glass and were quickly eliminated by the slap of windshield wipers. The tiny warm space inside was still quiet, the only audible sound being their warm breaths.
"Just wondering when we'll be dispatched again…" Chris started, "been a long time and we're still doing paperwork. It's kinda ridiculous."
"We'll be assigned sooner or later." Jill leaned back harder against the seat, crossing her arms, "at the very least for cleaning Jessica's mess."
"Let's see where this will take us. From the very beginning, something told me she wasn't up to anything good."
"Well, I'm glad that she finally showed her true colors. Let's pray this whole thing doesn't cripple the BSAA."
"Not gonna happen that easily. We've been hacked before… on many occasions… ain't gonna be fatal, but still… it does have its own setbacks."
"Yeah, especially when it's a double agent you're dealing with." She sighed, staring into the mist outside.
"Double against, spies, scientists, terrorists, it's basically the same concept, all over again in different places, repeating with different timelines."
"And it will always involve us as a constant feature."
"Sometimes all of that is necessary, especially if you value humanity before anything else. Then again, if it didn't, how would we spend our lives?"
"Couldn't agree anymore." Jill's eyes rested on the rearview mirror, his eyes suddenly captured hers, and both broke the stare, cheeks almost blushing.
"So… I get the impression something really messed you up. Wanna spit it out?"
"What could possibly mess me up? Everything was perfect, to be honest… the most colorful present I've received since my birthday! But…"
"But what?"
"Nothing…" Jill silently bit her lower lip, "it's just that… sometimes you feel low… that's all."
"I know why…" Chris said, his eyes set on the road as he clenched his jaw, "It's because of that bastard Wesker! I can't even imagine what he put you through!"
"Chris, Wesker's case is over now. Don't bother yourself too much."
"It's not over yet!" Chris sharply snapped. "Hell, I wouldn't be even surprised if that son of a bitch suddenly popped up in front of us right now… I used to think of immortal people as mere tools of ancient fairy tales, but now even if you tell me the sun rises from the west, I'm not gonna oppose. Jill look at yourself! You're still coping with this horrendous aftermath! You wake up sweat-stained every night with nightmares, going through things worse than PTSD! You still get traumatic flashbacks, don't you ever think it will escape my eyes! You choke up in silence the times that you're supposed to be feeling happy and normal, all because of that malevolent useless creature WESKER!" He almost shouted his name with implacable hatred, venom dripping from his voice.
"Chris, it's not as black and white as you think!" Jill said defensively, all inside her trembling.
"Then what is it? To be telling the truth, you're not the same as you were ten years ago. Why is that?"
"Ten years ago?! Many things have changed since then. Time will undoubtedly change us too…"
"Time will change us, but it won't 'destroy 'us…"
"Chris, I'm alright okay? I ain't gonna deny the fact that I've been affected one way or another, and that there's still a long path to recovery, but admit that things are gonna fall in place soon, deal?" her voice was becoming tender at this point.
Chris stayed quiet. The traffic jam was fading like the mist, so he accelerated and the car flew down the road effortlessly.
"Jill, that's exactly what you don't get. It's 'you' I'm worried about! There are times that you cannot stay calm anymore, especially when someone near you is suffering like that. I used to think that by removing that piece of brainwashing trash off your chest, everything was gonna return to normal, but it didn't. And now I can't believe you're defending Wesker on this!"
Jill's face turned dead white,
"What in the world could give you this abhorrent idea?"
"What doesn't? There's a special evasion in your words every time I mention him."
"Chris, the past is in the past. What you're doing now is nothing but opening old wounds! As simple as that! Now please end it right here!"
"Jill…" he whispered, seeming to have just realized the intensity of his own words, "I'm so sorry if I spoke harshly. We must have got our wires crossed, but you tell me… how can I keep still after all that I witness? You're right: that devil is gone, but his ashes are screwing your life, constantly disorienting you…"
"Chris, please… I'm fine I swear. Just don't worry about me."
"Whatever you wish."
"Thank you."
A/N: hey there again everyone, so hope you enjoyed this one as well!
Thanks for your priceless reviews! It's much appreciated.
Dear Guest: Thank you! Hope you took the most out of this chapter. Thanks for the review!
Dear wilburforcemoney: Honestly, I personally enjoyed that speech more than the other parts. So glad you liked it, thanks for the review ;)
Dearneddyomack: That's quite a huge compliment, thanks a billion friend! With all due respect, in my opinion Capcom has chosen an approach that is getting the franchise away from its former wonderful identity; both in terms of gameplay and character development. And yes, they didn't tell us about Jill… maybe they have special plans for her. I hope Capcom does change the games, there's so much potential there. I also liked that you took your time and posted a review, thanks ;)
Dear frozenheart7: I myself think it was an emotional chapter! Yeah Jill is facing difficulties. Thanks for the review!
Dear abcacb1221: Thank you very much!
Dear Redfield Claire: It definitely is devastating to lose a loved one. Thanks for the review ;)
With endless love towards readers, followers, reviewers and everyone…
Stay tuned!
