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.

Most people would be intimidated by a man like Chris Redfield, more so when he was screaming like he was right then. Not Melissa Angel. She stood there, simply allowing him his tantrum. “Are you done?” She asked finally. “If you cared so little, why stick around long enough to find out it’s a girl?” She asked coolly, in the same infuriatingly calm way Jill herself would’ve done. 

The room was comfortable, but clearly not made for someone who spent much time there. The sheets were soft, expensive silk, but that was the most lavish thing in there. On the night stand there was a glass of water, and two tablets, for the headache he had known she would wake with. 

That morning Claire woke feeling much the same as her best friend did. Also like her friend, she was in a strange bed. The younger Redfield inwardly groaned when she turned her head and saw the dark blonde head laying on the pillow next to her. “Shit...” She muttered, the previous night flooding back to her. As quietly as she could Claire slid from the bed, sapphire eyes darting about in search of her clothing. She still hadn’t read Jill’s message from the night before. Or the many that had followed it.

"I didn't find out it was a girl until my sister called to scream at me a few days ago." Chris lied. He'd known. From the very first scan he'd known and he'd been over the moon. The little piece of his heart that Jill carried was everything he'd dreamed of. Which was why he was deep inside umbrella. He was protecting the things he loved.

Rebecca didn't even argue with the tablets. She wiggled over to them and downed them, then buried herself again in the sheets, hoping Claire was worse off than she was right then.

Mel still seemed somewhat resistant to believe him. “Okay, so you knock your wife up, get pissed... abandon her and everything you fought for to join us, then little sis rips you a new one and you lose yourself in a bottle?” She asked, though it was clearly not intended as a question, merely an observation. “Whatever, I just need to know you’ve got my back when we’re out there clearing out the last of the mould.”

Claire was indeed worse off, but for another reason entirely. Jill had gone into early labour last night. Obviously Chris wasn’t there to help, and she had been trying to contact Claire. Right then the younger Redfield was in the hospital, pacing the hallway as she waited for news on what condition both mother and daughter were in.

"No to the sister thing and I was not drunk. And she tricked me. I didn't know she was planning to get pregnant. She said she...you know what? No. I'm not helping with anymore mold. Screw that." Chris grumbled. 

Rebecca finally got dressed and headed into the Hall, hoping she'd dreamed the whole thing and she was in the lab where she'd started last night.

Mel was stood between Chris and his exit. “Then you are useless to me!” She final roared, lunching Chris in the nose, just as Jill had done in their past when he needed sense knocking in to him. 

The hall was indeed stark and sterile like a lab, but it wasn’t the one Rebecca knew. Each few paces she took caused a strip light above her to illuminate, marking the way back, should she lose her nerve and wish to return. On the other hand, a thin line of blue led lights lined the bottom of the wall where it met the floor, leading a path to somewhere else entirely.

Chris understood being punched. He understood violence. He needed that breath of air. It was enough to shake him awake. "Screw you too."

Rebecca wanted to find out why she was wearing new clothes. Never mind the ones she'd worn the night before. Those had been covered in blood. 
She needed to know where she was and what was going on.

Mel again had her arms folded across her chest. “Maybe next time.” She replied, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Like Chris, the slender blonde only seemed to speak violence, her own feelings were never something she had really paid much attention to, for reasons entirely different to Chris though.

The path had brought Rebecca to a lab much like her own. It had various specemins in jars however, that would never have been a part of Rebecca’s work. On one of the desks, there was a file, and on the front was a photograph of one of the mold creatures.
 “How much do you know?” Wesker was behind her, though he hadn’t made a sound, and hadn’t been in the room when she had entered. Right to business like everything was normal.

Leon was sitting at Jill's beside, rocking the tiny infant in his arms. "Have you thought of a name yet?" He asked with a grin. "Xena, warrior princess?" He teased. He'd been there with Jill as soon as he'd gotten her call. He'd been the one to cut the cord.

"About the fact that you're still alive?" Rebecca breathed. "Or the mold?" She turned slowly, her arms wrapped around herself. "I've been working on that case under wraps for a while. I've been talking to folks at Neo Umbrella about the little girl."

Jill offered Leon a tired smiled and reached out to gently lay her fingers against against his arm, a gesture of thanks. “I could always call her Leona.” She replied, still smiling. Jill didn’t know how she would have gotten through tonight without him.

“And?” Wesker pressed, giving nothing away. “I’m surprised you didn’t get the information to your little BSAA family sooner.” He added.

"Give her a good name, not something she'd be fighting in the halls for." Leon said, shaking his head. "she's amazing, like her mother. Give her a name that shows that." 

"Why did you lie to me, Albert? Why do you keep doing that? I have never betrayed you. Even when  you left me and tried to kill me." Rebecca's tiny fists were clenched at her sides. "And then there was...Excella and Jill."

Jill gave a quiet snort of laughter, though it wasn’t joyful. “Let’s face it... any Valentine is always going to be fighting in the halls.” She replied, her own way of confirming she wasn’t even giving the child Chris’ name. That was how badly he had crushed her.

Wesker actually laughed at the mere thought of what Rebecca was suggesting. “You think the reason I kept Jill here all these years, was as my lover?” He snorted with a shake of his head. “All business, Rebecca. She had something I wanted, and I took it. As simple as that.” He wisely didn’t address the issue of Excella.

"Jill...I'm sure Chris never would have left you two for no reason." Leon said gently. "This is his daughter too. You should have heard him when he called me to say he was having one.  He already had her name picked out. Kali. He said it means Trouble in India. "

Rebecca wasn't having it. She knew what his silence meant. "You seem to do alot of taking. You always have. And let me guess...that's why we are face to face now, because you want my research on the girl and Ethan and Mia."

Jill glanced away, hating how much she loved that name. “Yeah, well, he isn’t here, is he?” She asked thinly. “He walked out and never looked back. The son of a bitch deserves shit from me.” She added, the anger in her voice only there to mask how badly she wanted to cry. “Besides, shouldn’t you and Claire have one of these of your own by now too?” She asked, sorely needing to turn the conversation away from her own failed marriage. Claire had never told Jill she and Leon had broken up, the younger Redfield had wanted to shield the elder woman from yet more bad news.

Wesker smiled, Rebecca confirming his suspicions. “So... either you suddenly got extremely adept at covert ops, or the BSAA did indeed know something was going on.”

"Claire said she was done with me." Leon said queitly. "How about Kali Leona? I'm all for that. She doesn't have to tell them the middle name." He laughed sadly.

"The BSAA got suspicious when I started tipping them off. " Rebecca said. "There was just way too many things happening that had your calling card on them. I knew you weren't dead."

Jill was staring at Leon with her mouth agape. “When did this happen?!” She demanded, feeling rather wounded that neither of them had thought to tell her until now.

Wesker smiled and moved over to the desk with the file on the lean against it. “You shouldn’t have dug quite so deep.” He warned. “You were living your life, officer Chambers. You were safe in your lab, until damn Chris Redfield stuck his pathetic nose into your business.”

"A few weeks ago. Before Chris left you. I think it hit her hard and she lost trust in me. I don't blame her." Leon got up and handed the baby back. "I lost faith in myself too." 

"Yeah." Rebecca whispered. "I think it's when you found me again. Isn't it?"

“Leon...” Jill breathed his name as she cradled her daughter close. “Claire loves you, she’s always loved you.” She added, feeling immensely guilty now for being so wrapped up in her own misery, that she had ignored that of her two closest friends. “There has to be more to it than this. You still love her, right?”

There was than infuriating smile of his again. “You helped level several blocks of Manhattan, hard to miss.” He replied, his smile turning into a smirk.

"It's killing me that she doesn't want to be near me." He whispered. "My insides are on fire...I...started drinking." He confessed. "I can't answer her when she calls. I don't know why she still calls." 

Rebecca returned his smile, unable to help herself. "Didn't you always tell me, go big or go home?" She purred.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jill asked softly. “She DOES want to be near you, Leon. She calls because she needs you tell her you need her, too.” She added. “What Chris did to me... I constantly ask what I did wrong, when did he stop loving me. But you and Claire... it’s different, there’s love on BOTH sides still.”

“That doesn’t sound like me...” Wesker replied, though he allowed a smile to betray the lie. It was an intentional gesture, as even Rebecca would know he had the worlds best poker face.

"That isn't going to change anything." Leon said queitly. "Look, I need to go get some fresh air. You want me to try and call Chris again?"

"So why seek me out? The others are causing you trouble. You've made it a point to let me know how useless and unworthy I am. "

Jill shook her head and refocused her attention on her quiet newborn. “You never should have called him in the first place.” She warned. “He gave up any right to be a part of this when he walked out on us.”
Claire had given up asking about Jill’s condition. She had simply wanted to hear the doctors tell her everything was fine, before Jill tried to convince her of the same. She was right there in the other side of the door, not for a second thinking Leon had been here all this time.

“Not entirely without use.” Wesker corrected. “They are mindless drones, always buzzing after danger. You... you plan. You think out and assess.”

"No. He lied to you to keep you safe." Leon admitted finally. "He made me agree not to tell you. The decision was made before the thing in New York. When Neo Umbrella started appearing... Chris and Rebecca knew. Wesker is still alive. And if he catches wind of... Her... " He reached out and gently touched the baby's head. "And if he knew what Claire had survived... He would Wade through hell for those girls. I won't let it happen. There was a meeting the night he found out you were pregnant. Jill... That man... Is willing to face death for the people he loves. He asked that the rest of the BSAA team do the same. I love Claire. I owe her that much." His voice broke. " She's gone through hell for her brother. I can't ask her to keep doing it."

"Why did you bring me here, Albert? " Rebecca asked, not allowing herself to meet his eyes. "You're beating around the bush. "

Jill stared at Leon as his words sank in. Only that’s not exactly what they did... each fresh revelation of this grand lie felt like a knife twisting at every nerve ending in her body. “Get out.” She whispered the words very quietly. She had thought she could feel no more betrayal after Chris had broken her, but this was worse. Her best friend had helped him do it. “Where the fuck do you get off helping him control us like this?! This was not his decision to make! Just get out, get out before I say something I can’t take back!”

Wesker smiled again, glad to see Rebecca was as astute as ever. “While misguided in their deployment of it, I do believe the E-Type to be worth developing further.” He told Rebecca simply. “They Simply chose an inferior genome to use as the base.”

Leon nodded and slowly backed away. He knew it would end this way. All his friendships did. "Goodluck, Jill. I'm just a phone call away." He whispered. "Always. "

Rebecca smiled at the man she loved. " Fuck you." She said finally. He'd brought her here to talk viruses and nothing more. She was nothing but a brain and raw tissue to him. He would never change.

“Unless Claire calls, right?” Jill spat, out of hurt rather than any real malice. 

“Not just yet.” Wesker responded with a smirk as he pushed away from the desk he had been leaning against. “I’m hungry. We’re going to lunch.” He informed Rebecca, as though she hadn’t just snarled at him.

"She's not speaking to me either. You don't have to worry about that." Leon whispered, his hand on the door. "Chris would have been proud of you girls. His daughter made us all look like idiots last night, telling those doctors she couldn't do something." He laughed softly. "What a Redfield way of life, never believing in I can't."

"Sure." Rebecca snorted, turning away from him. "I'm in the mood for Mexican and you're paying."

Jill didn’t say any more. She didn’t know which was worse, thinking Chris hated her, or knowing that he had had such little faith in her that he willingly chose to ruin their life, just to keep her alive a little longer. She didn’t think it noble what he had done. It was idiotic, and stupid, as far as she was concerned.

In the restaurant Wesker was watching Rebecca as she studied the menu. He knew she was still mad at him, but he also knew she couldn’t stay that way now her curiosity of the work he was doing had been piqued.

Leon went out into the hallway and rested his head against the wall. He took in a deep breath and held it in. He tried. He always tried. That seemed to be all he was good at.

"The E type was so weak. I'm not sure that's what you're looking for. If you want something with real damage you need to develop something new." Rebecca said thoughtfully, poking at the bowl of chips in front of her. "And since when do you eat? "

“Leon?” Claire’s worried voice would break into his thoughts. She was still wearing the dark magenta dress she had been when she was out with Rebecca the night before, and she wasn’t exactly fresh looking after the nights events. But here he was, the ex boyfriend she had been trying to forget, looking as perfect and well presented as ever. All the times he had refused to take her calls had sent a clear message to Claire; he was glad to be rid of her. 

“I’m sorry, do monsters in rookie Chambers’ world sustain themselves on malice alone?” Wesker replied with a snort. “But for the record, I believe you are correct; the E type was weak. But I blame that on them treating the girl, Eveline, like she actually was a child.”

The dress spoke volumes to the already broken hearted man. Leon looked up and wished he hadn't. His stomach lurched and he closed his eyes again, swallowing hard. "Your niece is here. She's okay. Better than Jill anyway." He whispered. "I was... Just... Leaving. "

Rebecca nodded, taking one of the chips and drowning it in cheese dip. "I tried to tell them that but Mia... "She paused and handed him the chip. It was an unconscious gesture she'd done so many times in their relationship it was now second nature. "She was wrapped up in the... Let's pretend she's our baby bullshit. I was so glad when I heard your group got a hold of her. Tell me you turned her into a potted plant."