Behind Enemy Lines

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”Valentine!” 
There was an audible, somewhat annoyed sigh, before the owner of the name allowed her cobalt eyes to leave the window she was staring out of. “What?” Was her clipped response. 
“I said, some of the guys from floor six are grabbing a beer, thought you might want to come?” Though he knew what her answer would be, it didn’t mean Noah stopped trying. He had spent these last six months watching her rapidly turn from someone who lit up any room she entered, to nothing more than a mindless drone, only there to get the job done. Jill Valentine seemed like she had truly lost a part of herself when her partner, in both senses of the word, dumped her like week old pizza. It was so bad, that no one dared even breathe the name Chris Redfield within earshot of her.
“Oh... no.” Jill breathed, her voice softening slightly. “I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on.”
Noah glanced to her desk, noting her computer wasn’t even turned on. “Alright, but... if you change your mind, you know where to find us. We miss you, Valentine.” He offered her a smile then left her office. 
Jill waited until the door swung shut and simply slumped down in her chair, staring at her darkened reflection in the computer screen. What had she missed? What had gone so wrong that Chris had found it so easy to simply walk away from everything they had? After everything they had been through, she had thought they were bulletproof.

Six months had dragged for Mel. She was well aware that Chris was avoiding her, and it hurt more than she had thought it would. Of course she still helped him search for his daughter, under the radar of her own bosses, but she knew he would never look at her the way he had Jill. 
Today was no different for her, other than the fact she was having to keep tabs on her ‘partner’ as he in turn spied on the family he abandoned.

“She hasn’t told you, has she?” Jill asked as she shook her head. “Damn Redfield’s and their secrets.” The tall woman was smiling as she said this, but six months on, Leon would know that her happiness was only on the surface. Jill had thrown herself into the wedding planning, a distraction for the spare time when she wasn’t following leads to her daughter. “You’re not from Raccoon City, so I guess you wouldn’t see it... this church is just like the one her parents got married in back in a home that doesn’t exist any more.”

“What? I’m just making sure you don’t fall.” Parker replied, almost seeming innocent if not for the grin he wore. “This... is a lot of white, don’t you think?” He commented as he glanced around the church. “I never figured those two as the grand church wedding type, either.”
Like most of the people around him, Parker was doing his best not to let bad situations destroy both Jill and Rebecca.

Leon didn't smile in return. Instead he was looking at the stained glass windows above them. "You know we could have waited." He said softly. He didn't have to explain what he meant.

"Me either." Rebecca said softly. She too looked around the large church as Parker sat her on her feet. "Im not sure why Claire wants so much white." She shook her head. "It's almost like she's trying to wash everything away. Or maybe..." She paused, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. "Maybe she doesn't want Leon to think about the woman in red."

Jill took Leon’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “No you couldn’t.” She asssured him quietly. “The both of you have out your own happiness on hold for the sake of others for far too long. How long have you loved her for now?” She added, again offering a gentle smile. 

Parker sighed quietly as he nodded in agreement. “But it seems like having all...this,” he breathed, gesturing around them. “Is just inviting in the very person Claire wants to forget.” He finished. “I thought she would have reconciled with Chris before now, too.” He added sadly. “She doesn’t even have anyone to walk her down the aisle...”

"She still thinks I'm in love with Ada." Leon sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "And... I'm afraid to do this. I'm going to screw it up." He confessed, knowing Jill would understand."

Rebecca was quiet for a long moment, still staring at the white drapes. "He's here." She finally answered. "He'll come through for her. He always does." 
That said she turned back to Parker and slapped his arm, giving him an impish grin. "We should go into business as professional wedding planners. This place looks amazing!"

Jill still had hold of Leon’s hand and gave it another squeeze. “I’ve seen the way Claire looks at you, trust me... so long as you are simply honest with her, you can’t screw anything up.” She assured him with a smile. “She needs to rely on you more than you realise, she can’t keep going through life reaching for what makes her happy, just to have it snatched away from her.”

Parker grinned and ran his fingers through his hair, though for different reasons Leon was right then. “All I did was stand there with your thighs pressed against my ears.” He teased, not wanting to think about Chris in fact not turning up.

"I've been there. Always. She just needs to trust me." Leon said softly. "But I guess I haven't given her much of reason to." He added, patting her on the shoulder. "Let's get back in there. We need to make sure Rebecca doesn't go overboard with the flowers." 

"You're the one who thinks I'm too short." Rebecca teased, poking out her tongue. "Come one, stop stalling and let's go get your suit on."

“I think it may be too late for that.” Jill replied with a smirk. “I know Claire wanted white, but... it’s starting to remind me of a funeral home in there.” She teased.

“Oh no, it takes me five minutes to put on the monkey suit... whereas you practically need stitching into your dress.” Parker replied with a grin.

"Claire should never have said just white." Leon grunted, making a face. "We've got to take some of this down. Well...maybe not. It might be a blood bath." He said prophetically. 

Rebecca pretended to be hurt by his words, pulling up her shirt a tiny bit to pinch at her waist. "I really have gained a few pounds." She muttered. "It's your fault you know. Stop trying to cook for me."

“Oh no, I’m not suffering the Redfield wrath by changing it hours before the ceremony!” Jill replied. “You tell her you don’t like it... she can’t get mad at you.”

“Try? Now who’s being mean!” Parker wailed dramatically. “But for the record... you are perfect as you are.” He added, before clearing his throat, clearly feeling awkward for having said that.

Leon laughed, "You are talking about Claire right? You know...What if I surprised her by adding red roses?" It wasn't really a question. It was clear as he toe out his phone and dialed the florist that he was already thinking of his soon to be wife's reaction when she saw the flowers. He didn't even consider it might just remind her of a certain woman Claire deep down suspected that he was in love with. 

"You have to say that because you're my friend." Rebecca muttered, shaking her head at him. "It's not true and we both know it. Now stop stalling with bullshit and go get changed." She added, giving Parker her best stern look. But because the edges of her lips were twitching into a smile, the look failed miserably. It always did.

Jill was also worried, but at the same time she hoped Claire would see it as nothing more than the loving gesture of a man who adored her. Things were never that simple though when it came to the Redfield’s. She glanced away as Leon started pleading with the florist to supply so many roses at such short notice, she could swear the car across the street from the church had been there all week now, always in a very slightly different parking spot. 

“You know... if you’re here, Jill is helping Leon... who is calming the bride?” Parker asked, offering Rebecca a grin of his own.

"So...I got my invitation." Chris said softly, opening the door to the bride's room. "I can't believe you thought I wouldn't come." He stopped in mid room, looking over his sister. "You look amazing, Claire. Mom and dad would have been so proud." 

"You look strange in a suit." Rebecca said, making a face at Parker as he came out of the dressing room. "I almost wish we could go fishing instead. I'm not sure I feel comfortable in a dress..."

Claire met her brother’s gaze in the full length mirror she was stood in front of, the redness to her eyes making it clear she had been crying. Despite this, the younger Redfield smiled and smoothed her hands down the front of her ivory gown. “No... they would be disappointed.” She corrected softly as she finally turned to face her brother. “Lily and Kali are still out there somewhere... and I’m playing fucking dress up!” She realised that was a rather unneeded outburst and pressed her hands over her eyes as she tried to suck in a calming breath. 

“You could always take it off.” Parker replied with a shrug, though he couldn’t keep a straight face for long and was soon smirking. “I’m worried though... no one will watch the bride with you in this dress...” He added, a finger gently tracing the edge of the magenta fabric where it met Rebecca’s smooth skin.

Chris pulled his sister against his chest and rubbed her shoulders. "We'll find them. Youll see." He promised her. "Now come on. This is your day. Don't let anyone ruin it."

"Yeah well you know. Never a bride and all that." Rebecca sighed.

“I’m scared.” Claire confessed quietly. “You know how much of a screw up I can be... I dont want to hurt him.” She breathed, wringing her fingers in their nervous way few people saw from the younger Redfield. “I love him, Chris, but...” She hesitated, truly not wanting to hurt her brother. “If you and Jill failed... what hope is there for the rest of us?”

“You just haven’t found someone who deserves you yet.” Parker pointed out gently. “Or who isn’t, you know... evil.” He added with a smirk.

"Jill and I never failed, kiddo. Never think that." Chris said firmly. "I'm still there for here whether she realizes it or not. Thing are never like they seem."

"Oh god." Rebecca made a face. "I'd be the worst thing to happen to someone. Even myself."

“She’s broken, Chris.” Claire whispered. “She thinks no one sees... but I do. She barely eats, and only sleeps a few hours a day. Every other moment is filled with looking after everyone else.”

“Or the best thing they’ve never had.” Parker replied, watching Rebecca for a brief moment before turning away to fuss with the flower in his lapel.

"Then she's not the woman I knew." Chris said softly, shaking his head. "The woman I knew would punch me in the face if she even thought she saw me. I don't understand her at all. Anyway," He reached out and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Are you ready. You deserve this moment, kiddo." 

Rebecca stopped him and fixed the flower herself. "The best of nothing. No one is that crazy. Not even not even Albert Wesker. Come on the music is starting." She breathed, pressing her lips to his.

Claire shook her head and took a step back, pulling her shoulders from her brothers grip. “The man I knew would never say something so callous about a woman he claimed he once loved.” She whispered. “Are you forgetting that you fell apart once too? Jill never gave up on you.”

Parker grinned and slid an arm around Rebecca’s waist. “My mother dropped me on my head as a child, does that count?” He teased as they joined the rest of the wedding party.

Chris dropped his hands at his sides, his face unreadable. "I'm glad you're the expert here, kiddo." He said gruffly. "You seem to understand everything. I guess I'll leave you to it then." He added, turning to go. 

"I'm willing to bet that's not the only time you've ever been hit on your head." Rebecca laughed, twisting her arm around his as they walked. "You're a nut job." She laughed, wondering how she had ever lived without him.

Claire could feel fresh tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched her brother walk away. It wasn’t just Jill’s heart he had broken when he joined neo umbrella, his little sister had felt it too.

They had been sitting in the front row of the church for some time when Parker finally leaned in close to Rebecca. “Leon is starting to look pretty nervous up there... shouldn’t someone check on Claire?”

Chris didn't go far. He was watching his wife. He couldn't help himself. He loved her so much. This assignment was killing him. His heart was broken. He didn't know why he'd thought coming here and coming inside was a good idea. 

"I'll go." Rebecca said, pushing to her feet. She wouldn't get far down the isle. A twisted, blonde haired monster was racing toward her, screaming at the top of it's lungs.

This was one of those rare moments when Jill thought no one was looking. She was stood in the vestibule, assuming everyone was inside as she covered her face with her hands and attempted to suck in a few calming breaths. She was no closer to finding her daughter, and no matter how much she claimed she hated him... Jill knew Chris would have made this so much easier. 

Parker felt like his body wouldn’t react how he was asking it to. He felt himself turning at the awful screeching that suddenly reverberated from every rafter of the old church, and though he saw the creature heading for Rebecca, it felt like his legs wouldn’t move fast enough.

"Mel, get in here." Chris said into his ear piece as he stepped into the isle behind the monster. It took him a moment to realize the monster was steated in a wheelchair and he knew exactly who she was. Once again he had to swallow his horror and he aimed his gun. "Rebecca!" He barked. "Get out of there!" 
Rebecca realized the monster's idenity at the same moment and dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. One look at the tall windows above them brought her tormentor into view. He'd turned their...no her daughter into a monster simply to hurt her. He couldn't have done a better job. 

Leon moved forward to protect Rebecca, his arm on her shoulder and a gun in his hand. He knew better than to show up for a wedding without one. He too saw Wesker and the little girl in the wheelchair. It was making things much harder than it should have.

Mel came running the moment Chris called her. She had to pass Jill on the way, there was a brief moment when both women allowed their gazes to meet. Time seemed to slow for a moment, and then Mel kept right on running. “Holy cr...” Her green eyes were wide when she saw the amount of flowers filling the ornate church. The monster, that was something she had come to accept as an every day occurrence. The seconds passed and she was finally at Chris’s side, firing shots into the creature without waiting for him to give the order.

"Mel, don't!" Chris barked, bumping her so that the shots headed up into the rafters. One would have thought that he'd done it on purpose. "That's Rebecca's daughter." He hissed, his mind fighting for another way to win this fight. 
Leon was doing the same, even while his eyes searched for Claire, hoping she was still getting dressed. 
Rebecca's chest was so tight she couldn't breathe. She couldn't take her eyes off where Wesker stood even when he dodged the bullets and disappeared. Hot tears slid down her cheeks. They'd searched for her Lilly for months only to have it end like this. This was her worst nightmare...

Leon would not be so lucky. Claire had heard all the screaming, and come running. It was as Chris was deflecting Mel’s aim that a stray bullet sliced across the church, staining Claire’s ivory gown with the deep crimson she had purposefully tried to avoid. The only thing she could be thankful for, was that the bullet had gone straight through. 
“That isn’t a child!” Mel hissed, angry that Chris had stopped her. “Look at it, it wants to kill!”

"Damn it." Chris hissed, this time seeing the shadow moving from the rafters above. It was the reason he missed the action in front of him. 
Sherry saw Wesker move and went for him, knowing that he was the reason for all of it. She also knew that Jake would not let his father get away with it if he had the chance. 
"Parker!" Leon shouted, trying to get the other man to help him with Rebecca so that he could get to Claire. The tiny brunette was still frozen in place staring above her, even when the monster's tentacle shot through her midsection.

“Chris!” Mel hissed, her green eyes looking up at him with frustration. “If you don’t let me out that thing down, everyone is going to be dead!” She insisted as the the first two casualties dropped blood on the floor. 
Like her partner, Claire had also known better than to attend even her own wedding unarmed. Beneath her dress was her favourite gun, the very one Leon had given her all those years ago in Raccoon City. Despite being shot, she was still following the action in the rafters, and shouting for Leon and Parker to get Rebecca out of there.
Meanwhile, Sherry wasn’t fighting alone. Aside from Jake, Jill had also followed the slender blonde in chasing down what she hoped was a ghost.

Rebecca took in her first full breath as Parker lifted her into his arms. His warm sandlewood scent surrounded her and she finally turned her head, burying her face into his neck. The pain wasn't even registering yet. 

Sherry slammed into Wesker, taking them both to the ground from impossible heights. It was the best she could do without a weapon.
It was enough to get the monster's attention. It turned as Parker picked up Rebecca, whispering Sherry's name.