I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE

PLOT: Before Alice can vanish after the Detroit rescue, Jill catches her and convinces her to stay. This alters the course of the apocalypse in many unexpected ways, resulting in a new timeline in which Alice and Jill save their friends—and the world—together.

TIMELINE: AU story, begins weeks after the end of Resident Evil: Apocalypse

CHARACTERS: Alice/Jill femslash, Carlos, Angie, L.J. (plus some Claire, K-Mart, Chris, etc)

GENRE: Romance, Action, LGBTQ themes

RATING: T for language and suggestive situations

NOTE: Basically, this is a hybrid of what I imagine would've happened before Extinction and then a rewrite of the subsequent films from the perspective of what could have happened if Jill and Alice were together. I took some liberties, of course, but I hope the Alice/Jill shippers enjoy!

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Chapter one:

The nightmares came in flashes, intense and sharp, like someone was rapidly clicking through a projector. Alice would see herself lying in the shower, and a second later she'd be looking at her reflection in the fogged mirror. She'd hear the screams and see the faces of everyone she felt she had failed. She'd be in The Hive one moment, then surrounded by the Undead of Raccoon City the next, until finally waking in the Detroit facility. She'd see the face of Dr. Isaacs, and she'd see the Umbrella logo in the corner of her vision. They were using her, tracking her…

She'd wake with a start, often forgetting where she was. On this particular night, she had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room of their latest safehouse. Carlos and L.J. were on bunkbeds in the loft, Angie had a futon in the basement, and Jill was asleep in the bedroom on the ground floor. Despite the subtle tremors caused by Alice's nightmares, no one had stirred. Alice sat on the edge of the cushions, trying to catch her breath. She couldn't help feeling like Umbrella was closing in. It had been three weeks since they'd extracted Alice, and Alice figured that meant their luck was going to run out soon.

She had toyed with the idea of leaving the group. She could break into an Umbrella facility, hack the computers, and figure out how to stay off the grid. That way, Umbrella couldn't come for the ones she cared about. However, she hadn't left just yet. Maybe it was out of loyalty or gratitude. Maybe she was afraid to go it alone. Or maybe she'd grown closer to her friends than she wanted to admit.

Yet, there was something about that last nightmare. It had shaken several pictures from the walls, and Alice's heart was still racing. A sense of dread filled her veins, a feeling that something horrible was imminent. Everyone else was out like a light. There'd be no better time to vanish.

Alice couldn't leave empty handed. She needed a few basic items, like clothing and weapons, but her things were in the room where Jill Valentine was peacefully sleeping. Alice figured she could be quick and quiet, so she tiptoed to the room. She didn't dare turn on the light. She allowed the light from the hallway to come through a crack in the door. It fell on Jill's sleeping face. Alice paused to admire the view.

She forced herself to look away, knowing if she gazed at Jill for too long her resolve would fade. Silently, she grabbed her few possessions, things they had collected since going on the run, and tucked them into her bag. She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door.

In another life, Jill wouldn't have woken. She would have continued to sleep, and Alice would have disappeared into the night. However, in this case, Jill opened her eyes. Her body had sensed Alice's movements in the room. She sat up and saw that Alice's things were missing. In a panic, Jill left the bed and headed to the front porch.

Alice had just made it to the middle of their driveway. Jill called out. "Alice?"

She froze. Then, sighing, she turned around to face Jill. "Go back to sleep, Jill."

"What are you doing?"

"I have to go."

"Go where?" Jill asked. Alice remained silent as Jill folded her arms. "Were you planning on coming back?"

"I have to do this. They're tracking me. They'll find me, and they'll come for all of you. If that doesn't happen, they'll try to use me to do their jobs for them. It's best for everyone if I disappear."

Jill shook her head. "They haven't come for us yet."

"They're close. I can feel it."

"I won't let you leave."

"Jill."

"No. If you keep walking, I'll just follow you. I'll follow you until I catch up to you. When that happens, I'll kick your ass and drag you back here."

Alice saw the look of determination on Jill's face. It brought a smile to Alice. "I don't doubt that you'd try."

"Try? Honey, I'd have you pinned to the ground before you knew what hit you. I won't let you leave Angie…or me. Even if that means taking you down, barefoot and in my pajamas. So, save us both the trouble and come back inside. We can talk about this."

"If I stay, I'm putting all of you at risk. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you or Angie or the boys."

"Well, we can't live without you. So, you can't leave. We need you."

"You don't need me. You're strong enough on your own."

Jill left the porch, approaching Alice with confident steps. "We're strongest with you. Don't you get that? I don't care if there's a risk if you stay because the risk is greater with you gone."

"Don't do this," Alice warned as tears formed in her eyes. "Don't you talk me out of this. I've failed so many people. I've lost so many people…"

"So, what, you're going to lose us first? You're not trying to protect us by leaving, Alice. You're protecting yourself."

"No, that's not true. You don't know what Umbrella did to me. What they're still doing."

Timidly, Jill reached out and took Alice's hand. "Come inside, huh? Just come inside and talk to me about it. We'll think of a solution together."

Jill was close, so close. Alice felt the warmth of her hand and saw the gentleness in Jill's eyes. There was just something about that woman. Alice didn't want to look anywhere else, at anyone else, when Jill was near. Yet, she was trying to hold onto her resolve. She wanted to turn and run, but she knew Jill would follow. Jill would chase her to the ends of the earth if she had to, and Alice knew it. There was no leaving now.

"All right," Alice finally agreed.

Jill felt herself breathe easier. "Okay. But I'm not letting go of you until we're in there. Just in case you try to run."

Holding firmly to Alice's hand, Jill led them back into the house. She shut the door behind them, making sure to lock the bolt. It'd slow Alice down if she chose to make another quick escape, Jill figured. She sat with Alice on the sofa, feeling glad she caught Alice before it was too late. She wasn't sure what she would have done if she woke in the morning to find that Alice was gone.

"Tell me about what they did," Jill whispered.

Alice nodded at that. "They're trying to control me. They send me commands that I have to fight off. I have nightmares every night. I know they're looking for me, and they'll find me soon. I was thinking about staying off the grid. Hacking their computers and finding the satellites."

"That's a good idea. We should do it. We can break into one of their facilities to access their system. After we find the grid, we'll stay off it," Jill agreed.

"It'd be dangerous enough for me to do that alone. If more people came—"

"Alice," Jill stopped her. "You have to accept that you're stuck with us. At the very least, you're stuck with me. We need to stay off the grid anyway. The police still want to question Carlos and me about Terri's tape. This way, we can find a safe path for everyone."

Alice bit her lip anxiously. "I don't know. I feel like something is coming. Something worse than Umbrella. Staying off the grid might be the least of our concerns in the end."

"Whatever comes, we'll face it as a team. And we'll kick its ass. Okay?"

"Jill…"

She playfully shoved Alice's shoulder. "Okay?"

"Okay," Alice relented. She looked at Jill's face and melted. "We move forward as a team."

"Good. We will move forward as a team…in the morning. It's the middle of the night. We should be sleeping. Come to bed with me. I don't want to leave you out here alone."

That sounded good to Alice. She followed Jill to the bedroom and climbed onto one side while Jill got under the covers on the other. At first, they stayed on their respective sides. Jill didn't like the thought of Alice trying to slip out again, so she rolled over and wrapped an arm around Alice's midsection. She curled against Alice's back and held tightly.

"So I know you won't go anywhere," Jill whispered.

Alice smirked and discreetly held onto Jill's wrist. She settled against Jill, completely surrendering. Although she was terrified by the prospect of her presence causing problems for Jill, Angie, and the boys, she was somewhat relieved. She didn't want to say goodbye to them, especially not to Jill.

Yet, they had no idea what was coming.