After Death
Chapter 4
Anguish.
Leon paces back and forth in the hospital´s narrow corridor, cracking his fingers and occasionally running his hands over his golden hair, while casting a glance or two towards the access door to the operating rooms, with his terrible message of 'only authorized personnel' displayed in front of him, mocking him, and he growls. He has always had the highest authorizations in every place, why can't they allow him to pass now?
"You should sit and calm down," Claire snaps, from the cocoon that is her brother's arms, "You're making me more nervous than I already am."
"Why should you complain?" He snaps at her as he resumes his walking. "The only reason you're not with me walking all in anguish is because your brother is holding you down."
"Hey!" The aforementioned brother shouts at him while pulling Claire's arm to force her to his side because she has already gotten up to attack their friend. Still, that doesn't stop her from yelling at him from her seat.
"What's up with you, Kennedy? It's not that you and I are exactly on good terms for you to talk to me like that! Especially since it was you who couldn´t protect Jill."
"Claire!" It´s Claire´s turn to be reprimanded by her brother. "That's not necessary!"
But the words already have an effect on the blonde. Leon runs both hands over his hair while taking a deep breath.
"No, no, Chris, she´s right... I have no right to speak to you like that... It was me the one who didn't protect her..."
Listening to the sadness and guilt embedded in his friend´s voice, Chris sends a meaningful look to his sister, who glares back, and for a moment both exchange, in silence, annoying gestures, soundless phrases, and looks of anger and reproach, until Chris beckons her, and finally, feeling defeated, the redhead gives in and sighs deeply, rising from her place with her shoulders down.
"It´s okay, Leon. I´m sorry what I said, it really wasn't your fault."
Leon looks up when he sees her approaching, but this time, even when her actions take him by surprise, the blond simply allows the youngest of the Redfields to get into his arms, encircling her waist while she holds his broad back. He cannot deny that the gesture is very comforting.
"Forgive me for accusing you that way. I had no right."
He smiles as he rests his cheek on the top of her head.
"It´s me who should be apologizing to you, for being so stupid and so incompetent. You really just said out loud what I have in my head."
Claire squeezes a little tighter with her arms.
"Don't be silly, nor be so cocky, dude. Jill is one of the best fighters we have. If they managed to take her down, it's because those guys were really well-trained, that's why it's not your fault: you did what you could with what you had. Both of you did."
Leon closes his eyes, and despite the words that try to be comforting, he can see clearly, in his memory, Jill's wounded body as she slid to the floor, the blood stain gloomily painting the white wall behind her in crimson, the terrible image burned into his mind.
And repeating itself in his head over and over again.
"I'm sorry to tell you it doesn't comfort me that much."
"Would you feel better to know that she was indeed very lucky to have you there with her?" It´s Chris now who speaks to him, after getting up and placing a broad hand on his friend's shoulder. "If you hadn't been there, she wouldn't have had a single chance against those wretches."
"Which leads me to wonder, who the hell were those wretches?"
The two men look down, almost expecting to see smoke coming from the woman´s head, but she blatantly ignores their stares. When Claire goes into investigator mode, there's no stopping her.
"But the police found nothing about them, not even a name, let alone background," Leon states, letting his frustration show. "I checked with my agency and neither of them could get any kind of information. For the American state, such men don't exist."
Claire separates a little from his embrace.
"That's a bit weird and pretty suspicious, don't you think? Leon, during the time you were fighting, did you notice anything?"
Leon shakes his head.
"Not really, it was very evident that they were looking for us. At first, I thought it was just her, but then I thought there were way too many men to take down one single woman, even if it was the famous Jill Valentine, and then I thought they probably saw us both enter the apartment together. I don't know if they recognized me, but I´m sure at least one of them was looking for me in the apartment."
Claire hasn't moved, and they can almost see the gears working in her brain.
"I can almost be sure they didn't know about you, nor your identity. Surely they must have been waiting for her somewhere, not knowing she was coming from a mission. They probably thought you were something like the guy who would drive her home after a fun night."
"Is it something common in her?"
"Of course not!"
"For God's sake, Leon! Of course not!"
Leon can almost laugh as the two siblings, in unison, defend the honor of their fallen companion, and raise his hands in defense.
"Okay, okay! It was just a question. It's just that... If they saw us arrive together, they should have assumed my identity, since we came from the same mission."
But Claire shakes her head.
"Not necessarily. Our joint mission was top secret; To the untrained eye, she and I went for a guided visit, accompanied by my brother, as always. Nothing bound us to you before we started the mission. Nor to Becca. Which can only mean that, at least, no information from our missions has been leaked."
"Although I don't doubt that there are already leaks by now."
Chris nods.
"You can bet on that, mate. However, I will report it to our superiors, to increase the security of our information. Just in case."
"Good idea, I'll do the same."
Claire is about to give her opinion, but at that, the door of the operating room opens, and the friends can see Rebecca dressed in surgical pajamas, coming at them.
"Becca!"
Claire runs to her and is surprised at how tightly the youngest of them hugs her back, frightening her for a moment.
"Oh, Claire!"
Fearing the worse, the youngest Redfield breaks the hug, fear creeping up her throat as she seeks for the green eyes of her second-best friend.
"Is it... is it about Jill? Oh, please tell me she's okay!"
The youngest in her group shakes her head.
"Yes, don't worry, she's safe now. But it took a lot of effort to stabilize her; inside, Jill was..." The girl shakes her head, forcing herself to get those terrible images out of her mind. "Anyway, you shouldn´t worry, the chief surgeon will come out and talk to you in a moment."
"Hey, Becca, how are you?" Chris greets her, glad to see her. But, in spite of feeling better knowing his comrade is out of danger, Leon can't avoid his protest.
"How come they let you in and none of us could?"
The girl tilts her head and puts her hands on her hips, and then winks at the blonde.
"The chief surgeon was my teacher during college. He had no problem letting me in when I told him Jill is like a sister to me." Then, she passes an arm around the blond´s waist and leans her head on his chest, Leon responding with an arm on her shoulders. "I know you were worried too, grumpy head."
The man smirks.
"You know me too well."
She smiles at him sheepishly.
"Well, I'll leave you now," the youngest woman smiles at the siblings warmly, while she disentangles herself from the tall man, her green eyes looking at each of the concerned faces, "I just wanted to come out and tell you that Jill made it this time, because I imagined you all would be biting your nails out of worry, but I have to go back now to the operating room. You see, in exchange for being allowed in the surgery, I promised my teacher that I would be first assistant, as they are short of staff, so I'll get in trouble if I simply disappear from the operating room. I hope it doesn't take long for my teacher to go out and talk to you, guys."
"Thank you, Becca." Claire steps forward and hugs her tightly one last time.
"Don't mention it, Claire, Jill is my friend too. It's the least I can do for her." Without further ado, the green-eyed woman returns to the operating room, sending them a last thumbs up to cheer them up.
For a couple of minutes, the three stand completely static, staring at the double sheet doors, until Claire turns around and hugs her brother, letting out a sigh and a sob.
"I'm so glad she´s okay..."
Chris gives her a kiss on her head, while his arm wraps around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.
"Yeah, me too."
But the tender scene between the siblings doesn't last long, for after a few moments the chief surgeon comes out, walking quickly towards them. The friends shudder when they notice his blood-soaked surgical gown, as well as the gloves on his hands, which he begins to remove to review a file, the agents worrying out of their minds at an idea:
Surely, that's Jill's blood...
And it's way too much blood...
"Are any of you agent Jill Valentine´s husband?"
The two men open their eyes in terror, exchanging glances of disbelief and horror at his words while both are completely speechless at the doctor's direct question.
"Emh... err..." Chris barely manages to murmur, although the sounds seem more like grunts than real words. Claire sighs, exasperated at the two men who sometimes behave more like children than full-grown adults, and she lightly punches her brother in the stomach.
"This one over here is her superior, and he and I are best friends with Jill. She doesn't have anyone else, so we're practically family."
The surgeon at first hesitates, but upon reviewing the file he finds that there´s, indeed, no signature of any living relative, so he agrees, though reluctantly, to give his report to Jill's superior, his voice rather monotone and exhausted.
"Agent Jill Valentine is already out of danger, We managed to extract the bullet, but it was a laborious task. The bullet entered between two ribs and pierced the lung, bouncing off at several points, so we had to suture approximately four lung segments. However, that was not the worst part. During the bullet´s trajectory, its shock wave damaged several vessels around it, so the bleeding was massive, further compressing the already damaged lung." The medic, concentrated on his task, doesn´t notice the pale faces and terrified eyes of his audience. "Simply put, Miss Valentine was drowning in her own blood. It was fortunate that you brought her so quickly. It was already necessary for us to transfuse her approximately fifteen blood packages. She was very lucky: we wouldn't have managed to save her if you had delayed even a few more minutes."
Coming out of her stupor, and forcing herself not to throw up, Claire steps forward to talk to the doctor.
"Can we... can we see her?"
But he shakes his head.
"I´m sorry, Miss. We're already finishing the surgery, it´s true, but she still has to go to the recovery wing, there will be a couple of more hours until you get to see her. We will let you know once the time is up, but I recommend that you better go to eat or to rest. The time you linger will not help her recovery. – The man tries to smile. – She's out of danger, I assure you. We just have to wait for her body to do the rest."
The last words are spoken with one hand on Claire's shoulder, trying to comfort her, and then the man disappears behind the double-leaved door.
Staring blankly, Claire drops on the chair she had been occupying, while each male takes their place on her flanks, letting themselves fall down, physically and emotionally exhausted.
She doesn't know why, but Claire isn't feeling quite relieved to hear the good news.
oooooooooooo
It's been four hours since she left the operating room, and Jill barely opens her eyes for the first time, the intense evening light hitting her retinas. The agent tries to move a hand to protect her delicate eyes from the sunlight but finds that her left arm is completely immobilized by a sling and that her whole body hurts very much, as if a cargo truck had run over her, and the movement draws a low moan from her lips.
"Welcome to the land of the living, Jill-sandwich."
The brunette slowly turns her gaze, realizing that she has an oxygen mask on her face that limits her movements, in spite of which she tries to smile the moment she sees her best friend sitting next to her.
"Chris..."
"That's right, beautiful, I'm here with you."
She tries to raise her hand to him, but he beats her to it, taking it with both of his own, marveling at the thought of how such a small hand can be such a destructive weapon. The thought makes him smile broadly.
"I'm glad you're back to us."
Jill nods slowly, trying to remove the mask by moving her face, but the pain is still intense, so she only grunts. Chris, understanding her predicament, immediately gets up and helps her remove the annoying artifact.
"What happened to me?"
"What do you remember?"
For a few moments, Jill remains silent, trying to retrieve her most recent memory, until finally the previous events assault her mind, and her concern now revolves around the partner she left behind.
"What happened to Leon?"
Chris nods, as a sad smile escapes him. Typical of Jill, caring for others instead of taking care of herself first.
"He's fine, don't fret. You managed to stop those men, so our favorite blonde is safe, thanks to you."
She smirks and raises a delicate eyebrow.
"Our favorite blonde?"
"Well, I don't know any other blond who has saved my favorite women more times than he has. Or do you?"
"Touché..." Jill laughs a little, but the laughter turns to cough, making her moan even more.
"Jill? Are you ok?"
After a couple of coughs, she breathes in again and reclines over the pillows.
"Yes... I'm fine... It's just a little cough." Evidently tired, Jill slowly breathes in to prevent another fit. "I'm glad to know Leon is safe. I was very lucky when I decided to invite him to my apartment."
"I think you were indeed lucky. And he also stayed here, you know? Caring for you." Without saying anything, Jill turns her tired baby blue eyes towards her partner, and, as she guessed, she can see the plea behind his gaze. "He's a great friend, Jill, and a very good partner, as you can see."
Despite the statement, Jill says nothing, and, not wanting to keep arguing with her friend, she directs her gaze toward a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses resting on the small dressing table.
"Leon brought them for you. He said he was very impressed by you, admiring everything he had discovered about you in less than 24 hours." Chris snorts, a smirk drawing on his face. "It seems that you left a deep mark on that huge heart of his."
Jill huffs too, incredulous at the assertion.
"Please! That huge heart is surely too busy paying attention to ten other agents besides myself. I´m sure he only does it for the coffee I still owe him because I really hope he knows beforehand that I won´t let him get inside my panties." Both exchange a funny look, but after a moment, Jill is the first one to get all serious. "Enough about Leon, what happened to your house?"
He shakes his head.
"I sent a group to investigate, and as you had guessed, someone had already broke in. It seems that they turned the whole place upside down, I don't know what they were looking for, but their search was not a successful one, though they didn´t seem too interested in it either. It seems that his target was really me."
"And me."
The firmness of her voice makes her friend's chocolate eyes rise to hers.
"You already have something in mind."
It's not a question. He knows her all too well. For a moment, Jill thinks silently, considering whether it's a good idea to discuss the subject at the time, especially after her initial negative.
"Maybe..." Her baby blue eyes observe him in a deep way, loaded with meaning.
Receiving the message, Chris's gaze darkens.
"But that would mean Claire is in danger too."
Softly, Jill shakes her head.
"Not necessarily. If they came for me, the snitch knew that Claire handed it to me. And perhaps, for continuity, they must have thought I gave it to you. That could put her at risk because of her association with us. But for no other reason."
Chris nods, though not convinced by the possibility. The female agent says no more, and a heavy silence surrounds them for a few seconds, causing Chris to sink into the chair slightly, and he sighs deeply.
"Jill... I still think we should talk to Leon about this, with his help we could..."
"No."
The voice is firm, though barely a whisper, as the woman feels guilt eating away at her soul, especially now that the intrepid agent has done so much for her. However, she feels tired as well: this is a conversation that, in recent weeks, she and Chris have had on more than one occasion. And it always leads to the same disruptive end.
"But Jill, he's my friend..."
"And works for the D.S.O."
"Whose obligation is the defense against bioterrorism."
"Under the decision and justice of a single man. Think about it, Chris, What guarantee do we have that this man will always be impartial? That he won´t choose to protect one of his own, even when this person does wrong, over the welfare of innocent but unknown people?" Jill watches him with piercing blue eyes fixed upon his chocolate ones. "The information Claire and I got in our last mission is way too valuable for us to risk Leon giving it the same treatment as Penamstan's files. Please, Chris, no."
Chris sighs deeply again and lowers his head, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I guess... You're right."
Jill rests a hand on his huge one, and immediately Chris turns his wrist, imprisoning her fingers. The female lets him be, knowing that her touch relaxes him.
As much as his relaxes her too.
"Please understand, Chris, it's not that I distrust him. I know that you and Claire hold Leon in very high regard, and now I owe him my life. Twice. But there are things bigger than us. We cannot risk losing our advantage because of our misplaced feelings of loyalty. We owe loyalty to the innocent who perished, and to those who might perish in the future if we doubt due to our feelings. No one else deserves that loyalty."
Chris really doesn't feel very convinced, but he doesn't want to argue with her either. Especially since most of the time she's right.
"Fine then. We'll do what you and Claire want. For now. But I'd love to see Leon prove to both of you, faithless women, that he's a faithful friend."
Jill smiles softly at him.
"Then let´s wait for the day we get to hear from you an 'I told you so'."
The two smile at each other over such faint hope, only to remain silent again, each sinking into their own thoughts. After a couple of minutes, Jill decides to turn the topic to less touchy but equally worrisome topics, expressing out loud what worries them both, although her gaze remains fixed on front, over the flowers that Leon brought her.
"I was thinking about the security of our apartments being violated. We can no longer live there, at least while we find those who ordered our murder. Have you considered any of that?" The man looks up at her. "I think that, for the safety of both of us, we should stay for a while in the organization´s barracks, since our enemies could try and finish the job."
Chris sighs again.
"I agree with you, we can't return home; unfortunately, maybe you haven't heard, but the female barracks are being remodeled, and although ours are almost finished, the truth is that it'll still take them a week or so to be opened."
Jill opens her eyes wide, surprised because, indeed, she hadn´t heard of the news.
"That's terrible... But then we have a serious problem: I can't stay in the hospital forever, and I definitely can't go back to my apartment, just like you."
"Haven't you thought about staying over Claire's, or Rebecca's?"
"No, and neither should you. Think about it, once they start looking for us again, theirs will be the first place they will go, putting Claire and Rebecca at great risk."
He nods, worry over his countenance
"That´s quite true."
After a couple more seconds of stressful silence, Chris squeezes her hand.
"Then give me a couple of days, and I'll get you a place where you can stay and be safe."
"And what will become of you?"
"I can go to Sheva's."
"Is she back in town?"
He shakes his head.
"Not really, She's still on her mission in Brazil, but she rented an apartment on the city outskirts, and a couple of weeks ago she offered me to stay with her in case I needed it."
She smiles broadly, though her smile is rather evilly.
"It´s curious that you didn´t offer me her apartment, when, between you and me, I'm obviously the girl here, but I feel more surprised knowing she offered it to you when you already have a good place to live..."
A broad eyebrow rises, lost in the interrogation.
"Where do you want to go with this?"
Like a mirror, a delicate eyebrow rises, while the mischievous smile expands.
"Chris... Is there something going on between you and Agent Sheva?"
Chris's face turns so red, that Jill can't help but laugh out loud, as the man tries to explain himself, raising both palms up front, while almost falling off the chair.
"N-no! It's not what you think, Jill! S-she just tried to be nice! ¡And... And I just don´t want you to be alone!"
But Jill is so affected by her friend's look of sheer terror, that she just can´t stop laughing, although in the end, that hilarious activity ends in bouts of coughing, evidently producing her pain over her wounds."
"Jill!"
Chris immediately gets up from his place, approaching her to try to help. Although he doesn't think he can do much...
Jill raises her hand, trying to calm her friend, her countenance reflecting the deep torment she´s in. Once the coughing fit is contained, the woman breathes ever so slowly, afraid that the torture will be repeated, her face such a mask of pain, that Chris really feels very worried.
"Let me go get the doctor."
"No..." In a quick movement that surprises Chris, causing herself pain, Jill takes him by the wrist, while a pair of tortured blue eyes dig into his own. "Please."
Chris feels saddened by the plea, because he knows it's genuine, and nods, taking her free hand once more and sitting again in the chair next to the bed, destined for visitors. Destined for him.
"Don't worry, Jill, I'm not going to abandon you."
She nods, gratefully, and, feeling better, leans into the pillows. Her gaze returns to the yellow roses, as her brow furrows, numerous thoughts plaguing her mind.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Mmh?"
Chris looks at her, but she refuses to look back, her eyes fixed on the roses´ yellow hue, while her mind wanders.
"There are many things coming and going inside my head, details of the attack, but there's one thing that just doesn´t fit right, and I just… can´t understand it. I just can´t grasp how the ambulance managed to get home so quickly. I mean, the hospital is not quite close to my apartment, and I understand my time perception was altered, but still, it seemed to me that they arrived way too soon to help me, given the distance."
Unexpectedly, Chris chuckles, while, unable to hold back his longing anymore, he kisses her knuckles. Seeing her so vulnerable just moments ago really affected him.
"If you have to know, Mrs. Figg heard the ruckus you were making, and thought Leon had gotten violent with you."
Jill snorts at the thought.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, in her words, she said 'I just knew that boy was just too perfect for her, so I thought he was probably beating her up!'"
Jill laughs a little at her partner's silly and hilarious imitation of the belligerent old woman, causing her to cough a little more, and Chris immediately gets up.
"Jill..."
"Don't... Don't worry..." This time, the coughing fit recovers sooner, to the agent´s delight, already too excited to hear the outcome. "And then? What happened?"
"Well, by the time Leon made the call, the ambulance and the police were already on their way and were almost on your street. That's why they arrived in a few minutes."
She smiles as she closes her eyes.
"I owe that woman my life."
"Don't worry, we already made Leon promise he would take her out to dinner."
Immediately Jill opens her eyes wide, a huge and beautiful smile of complete disbelief and absolute amusement lighting up her tired face.
"Chris!"
The man laughs a little at his partner's reaction.
"Don't look at me! It was Claire's idea, curiously and suspiciously one that Mrs. Figg immediately accepted. And because our friend felt too guilty after seeing you all bruised and injured, well... You can imagine he wasn't all that hard to convince."
Jill, despite the cough, laughs some more, vividly imagining the face of her poor companion and savior.
"I'm very sorry Leon has to go through this. But promise me you'll show me the pictures."
Chris laughs happily.
"I promise. We're even thinking of publishing them out there."
Jill laughs a little more, then becomes serious, while repressing the coughing fit that threatens to be repeated. Chris has still to let go of her hand. After a few moments, both of them are enveloped once again in a comfortable and peaceful silence, one that allows them to sink into each of their own thoughts, without making the other one feel abandoned or ignored.
A silence that only true partners can find.
After a dozen minutes, though, Jill sighs deeply, and Chris looks up at her face once more, all too conscious of her vulnerability.
"How do you feel?"
A sad smile forms on his lips.
"If you really want to know, it suddenly made me think of Nemesis, although obviously without that much drama."
Chris snorts, straightening up a little.
"Don't joke with that. The way you told me, it sounded terrible."
"And it was..."
The man immediately senses the shudder that runs through Jill's body and is aware that his best friend's mind is full of tribulations and fears. Taking advantage of the fact that he still has her small hand trapped between his, Chris kisses her knuckles again.
"Don't worry, Jill. This time you aren't alone. You have good friends who will protect you. You have me."
Jill smiles at him, leaning back pleasantly on the pillows, then closes her eyes, sighing softly, her chest swollen with gratitude at his words.
"You're a great friend, Chris. Thank you."
He smiles back.
"My pleasure, beautiful. You can always count on me."
Chris lowers his gaze to observe his huge calloused hands tenderly holding hers, caressing the back of the soft skin with his thumb. For several minutes, the two fall again in a comfortable silence, Chris slowly stroking Jill's hand, thanking all the gods of heaven his companion survived, thanking them a thousand times more they decided to allow Leon to linger.
"Jill... I..."
But when he looks up, he sees that the precious baby blue eyes remain closed, while her breathing is deep and rhythmic, unmistakable signs that she has sunk into a deep, restful sleep. Chris looks at her, noticing her countenance of pure bliss, where he no longer observes pain, fear, or even worry. As if she had not a problem in the world.
He sighs deeply and kisses her hand again.
"Rest well, Jill. You need it. In the meantime, I promise you I won´t move from your side. This time I will be the one to protect you."
oooooooooooo
A/N: a small gift for those who adore ValenField. I've never liked that ship, but I can't deny its appeal. I hope you like it.
And well, someone is wondering what they don't want to share with Leon? Because I do.
Among other things, I don't know who came up with the Jill-sandwich thing first, or what the point was, but I've seen that a lot of people like it, so I'm including it here . Could anyone please explain it to me? Because I rack my brain about its meaning and always come out empty *sniff*. Credits to the creator.
Also, I might need to apologize for all the touchy-hugging that occurred at the beginning of the chapter, but you have to be honest with me: you longed for it too, hehehe.
And to say goodbye, an apology for all the dialogue, but I really like Jill Valentine, she has always been one of my favorite heroines, if not the most, because she was always very strong and determined, but never lost her beauty and sex appeal, which in most cases was not exaggerated either, let alone the man-eating kind of many other heroines. That is, she showed herself, from the very beginning, as a normal woman, as a beautiful girl who was determined, like several of us, to show that she is much more than a pretty face, but that circumstances forced her to become stronger than she had planned to. That's why I love this new story because it allows me to try to get into her mind. I hope I didn´t make her too OOC, and that you guys are enjoying it too.