Chapter 20: Reconciliation

Author's note: I was surprised to see how many of you said that Jill was gonna flip her shit and freak out about Sheva and Chris! Well, that's not exactly how I portrayed her, so I hope you all still like the chapter :).

To Justsomegirl17: Pets are the best therapy! Besides chocolate and Céline Dion's music :O… Hope you're having a splendid day and I shall talk to you very soon :). Arrivederci, my dearest!
To Sheva Redfield: That happened to me too! I was at the mall and a woman who worked at a clothing store, her name was Sophie. I was so happy :P. Sophie is such a cutie pie! I will talk to you later, hope you're having a wonderful day!
To ShevaGiulia: Thank you, my dear! You speak such kind words; it makes my heart warm :). I'm so happy you consider me one of your favorites, so thank you! Hope you like this update and I'll talk to you soon!
To Potiphar's Wife: The last one was one of my favorites as well. The whole time setting and sequence in RE6 is pretty frustrating. But I liked the game overall, so I looked past it :P. The hurt will be coming soon, I promise. I feel like Chris would be overly protective when it comes to the love of his life, haha. Oh, and what's a DA account? Happy belated Valentine's Day!
To Sivan IXXX: If Jill was pregnant, I'd backflip into the sun with you! That would be crazy! Glad to hear you liked the last chapter, talk to you soon!
To Fujisawa Loser: All of the comments you left me made me laugh! I assume if you've read up to chapter 20 yet, so I just want to say: Thank you for all the compliments and motivational words and I hope you continue to read to enjoy the story :) It's true, there are a few misspellings and grammatical errors, but I am after all an amateur writer and I don't have an editor to fix these things for me. Also, I'm going back in forth with writing other things, so I get so mixed up and I end up making these mistakes. Nonetheless, I hope you can see past them and understand the meaning of it all :).

Also, the day I am posting this (2/16/13) marks one month I've been posting this story. So, Happy Anniversary to me :D! Hahaha. Much love and thanks to you guys, Sarai.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the RE characters mentioned in this story. Capcom does.

Sheva had arrived at O'Keefe's to find it fairly busy. She looked around to the large bar and caught sight of a brunette woman sitting at a table alone, sipping on a beer. Sheva recognized her and made way in her direction.

Jill was looking off in oblivion when she noticed Sheva walking towards her. She stood and when Sheva was near enough, she pulled her into a hug. The friendly gesture caught Sheva off guard but hugged her back despite the surprise.

Jill let go of her and nodded toward the chair next to the table, signaling for her to sit down. "Hi, Sheva, what did you want to drink?"

"Whatever you're having."

Jill walked off to the front of the bar and said something to the bartender. He handed her a bottle and Jill walked back over to the table she and Sheva were sitting at and took a seat across from her.

"Thank you," Sheva said while taking the beer Jill offered to her. "How are you? What have you been doing lately?"

"I'm doing a lot better now. I think I told you; the BSAA is letting me go on missions again and trusting me enough to train recruits. It's so much nicer than being monitored every two seconds and being told to sit-on-the-bench all the time, if you know what I mean."

Sheva nodded, "I see what you mean. I'm glad to hear that everything is good, Jill."

Jill smiled, "Thank you. How are you?"

"I'm very well, thanks. It's nice to be back home and yet I'm still trying to get used to calling NYC home. It's so different from Africa."

"I can't imagine. Have you talked to your friends back in Africa lately?" Jill asked while taking a sip from her beer.

"I haven't called in two weeks or so. So, I probably should get on that sometime soon," she said with a smile. "I miss them very much."

Jill held her hands together in her lap. "How's Josh?"

Sheva smiled lightly. She knew that she and Josh had partnered for a brief time during the Kijuju mission. They had fought the Majini and probably a lot of other things and once they were safe, found a chopper and went to find Sheva and Chris. Thus, saving them when they were fighting with Wesker and helping them destroy the madman once and for all.

Josh would ask about Jill once in a while. He was very smooth about it though. He'd be asking how America was and how Sheva was getting along with everyone. Then, very discreetly, he'd ask how Jill was doing. When Sheva would tease him about it, he'd just say he was interested in her well-being, nothing more. But Sheva knew better. She knew that Josh was attracted to the then-blonde American agent and he still was.

"Since the last time we talked, he was doing really well. He's still working for the BSAA and he's continuing his work as a Captain. His sister, Abeni, just got married."

Jill nodded and looked at her hands in her lap. It had become silent between the two and Sheva wondered if Jill was too shy to ask more.

"He asks about you, though," Sheva said. She knew if Josh was aware that she'd be telling Jill this, he'd lecture her and tell her to stop being so nosy.

She looked up to Sheva with eager and curious eyes. "He does? What does he ask about?" Jill shook her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts. "I mean, that's nice of him to ask about me."

Sheva couldn't help but giggle. She never saw Jill in such an awkward state and she had to admit she liked how antsy she was right now talking about Josh. "He asks how you're doing and what you've been up to. Don't tell him I said this, but he asked once if you were single."

Jill did her best to hide her smile, but she failed miserably and had a bright grin on her lips. She was quiet for a moment, lost in thought. After a second, she looked to Sheva. "What did you tell him when he asked if I was single?"

"I told him you were with Chris."

Jill's smile faded. She looked back to her hands. "Oh."

Sheva quickly sat straighter, slightly leaning over the table to get Jill's attentions. "I had to be honest with him. But, I admit, he was sad to hear it. I think he really likes you, Jill. In fact, I know he does."

Jill wouldn't look up, but Sheva could see a slight smile on her face. Sheva made a point to herself to never tell Josh what she had just told Jill. He'd be so embarrassed and demand her to tell Jill she was wrong; even though Sheva was completely right. It had fallen silent again.

Sheva was upset with herself for saying those things to Jill, fearing that they put her in a bad mood and state of mind. She took a gulp of her beer, hoping that the alcohol would make her nerves relax.

"We're not together anymore, you know."

Sheva was rendered speechless and repeated what Jill had just said in her mind, trying to wrap her mind around the words.

Jill noticed her hesitation and confusion. "Chris and I. We broke up a while ago. After Kijuju, it was just too hard for me to get back into the rhythm of a relationship again. We tried to stay together, but I just pushed him away. Over and over again. I could never say I loved him anymore. I know I hurt him so much and I was so angry with myself for making him feel so…unwanted."

Jill rested her elbows on the table and placed her face in her hands, hiding from the world. Sheva leaned further towards her and reassuringly rubbed Jill's shoulder, trying to console her. "It's okay, Jill. He's a big boy, he can handle it."

Jill chuckled in a defeated manner and pulled her hands away from her face, revealing watery eyes and a sad smile. "I know. You're right. It's just he was there for me, all the time, all the way through. I never was for him…not once." She sighed heavily and rested her chin in her hand.

Sheva stayed quiet, afraid she might say something stupid or wrong. She gently patted Jill's shoulder and pulled her hand away.

Jill sniffled and looked her in the eyes; her bright blue iris's standing out from the white and red surrounding the orbs. "Then, about a few weeks before he left on his mission to Edonia, we had a huge fight. He was tired of me constantly pushing him away and I was angry, claiming he was the one pushing me. The thing was he wasn't pushing me in any way shape or form. But I felt I had no good reason for the distance I was putting between us, so I blamed him. Ugh, I was such a bitch!"

Sheva nervously laughed, not sure whether or not that was a joke. She relaxed a bit when Jill chuckled.

"I yelled at him and he tried to calm me down, but I was just so tired of it all. I didn't want to, but I told him I couldn't do it anymore, that I couldn't love anyone. He just listened to me as I gave him a way too long of a list on why we shouldn't be together and why we were terrible together as a couple. He left then and I never spoke to him again." Jill had brought her hands back to her face and rubbed her eyes.

"Oh God, Sheva, I was so stupid. Not because I ended it; really its best we're not together anymore. But it's the way I ended did it. I was so mean and rude and hurtful." She took a deep breath and peeked over her fingers to look at Sheva. "When you told me he'd forgotten things, I thought now was my second chance. Not at a romance but at a friendship. I just want us to be friends. I don't think I can be with anyone, like that really, for a while."

Sheva scooted around the table and wrapped her arms around Jill. Jill didn't hesitate and happily hugged her back. After a moment and after feeling a few pairs of eyes on the embrace, Sheva pulled away.

"I think he'd love to be friends, Jill. And don't feel so bad about what happened between you guys. I mean, I don't really know how close you two were, but I know it was an honest and happy relationship. It'll all work out. And I'll help all I can, if there is any way I can help, that is."

Jill smiled widely and sighed happily. "Thank you, Sheva. Really. I'm sorry I was always so cold to you over the years. But if it's alright with you, I want us to be friends as well."

Sheva laughed and playfully punched Jill's arm, "What are you talking about? We are friends!"

Jill laughed along. She was so happy right now. She finally opened up to someone and she reconciled with someone she was happy to know. She watched as Sheva went back to her spot and took a sip of her beer. She studied her features and thought for a moment.

She then knew what she wanted to say next, "He always had feelings for you, though."

Sheva was once again speechless and at a loss for words.

Jill giggled, "I mean it. He wasn't obvious about it, but I know you were on his mind often. To be honest, I was slightly jealous. When we'd fight, he'd go to you and spend his time with you. I know now how silly I was for feeling that way, but I know he admires you."

Sheva smiled innocently and relished the idea of him always wanting her. She always wanted him and now that they had become intimate with one another, they both could express their longing for each other.

Jill stared at her with a smile on her face. She wasn't certain, but she had an idea that things had happened between her and Chris. Jill felt slightly jealous again. Not because Sheva had Chris, but because she was able to open up and love someone.

Jill tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear and said, "I'm not too sure how you feel towards him, but I want you to know that I want him to be happy and I know that you can make him feel that way. I don't know if it matters or if it helps, but I'm not angry or against you two being together. It'd take some getting used to and it might be weird for me at first, but I know you guys would be perfect for each other."

Sheva couldn't hide the bright grin on her face. This whole time she was scared that Jill wanted Chris back and now she was giving Sheva her approval to be with Chris. She could jump and cheer bliss. But instead, she grabbed hold of Jill's hands and thanked her for her words.

The two girls talked for a long time. They both had a few beers and got a little tipsy, but nothing overdone. After about two hours they decided to go home and call it a day. They hugged each other goodbye and promised they'd call one another real soon. As they were about to part, Sheva handed Jill a small piece of paper that had small scribbles on it.

Before Jill could read it, Sheva kissed her cheek and waved goodbye, walking in the other direction. Jill watched as she trotted away and giggled confusedly. She looked down to the paper in her hands and smiled softly. The note read:

Whenever you're ready, make the call.

And at the bottom of the small note, was a long distance number and under it read the name the number belonged to. It was Josh Stone's number.

Author's note: I was actually really considering rewriting this chapter to make it semi-aggressive, but I decided against it because then I'd have to rewrite a lot of other stuff in future chapters. I hope it was still a good read, even though Jill was nice about it all!

In the next chapter, we head for the BSAA and meet up with a familiar face. Oh, and Sheva starts feeling something….dadadunnnn…nnn…nnn!

See you guys on Monday, buh-bye! Sarai.