Old Vendettas

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The BSAA were as swift as ever with their rescue and clean up efforts in the aftermath of the New York attack. People were already being evacuated from the worst affected areas, a precaution they were told, nothing more. It was a chance to sweep the bodies from the streets and remove the charred remains of one Glenn Arias. There were emergency medical units being errected in many buildings. People were thankfully vaccinated, but there were still a great many wounded wandering the streets. Even the heroes themselves had found their way the one of the larger medical units, though one of their number would soon be regretting that decision. 
Chris Redfield would be given little warning before his wife zeroed in on him, lean limbs pushing people aside before she slapped him hard enough to make a sound that echoed. “You force me behind a desk, and this is how I have to find you?!” She hissed, holding up her PDA with a flashing red dot that showed Chris’ current location.
The small nurse who had been treating Chris for superficial wounds stared at the brunette with wide eyes, already quite terrified of this formidable looking woman.

"It is necessary." Chris insisted. "He'll never stop. I can't keep letting him hurt the people I love. Jill, please. Listen to me. I don't want to fight this battle either. But what else do I do?"

Leon didn't try to stop him. The darkness was sliding in with every punch. If he followed it, he couldn't follow orders. That had to be enough.

“You can stop!” Jill raised her voice this time, stepping away from Chris as she paced the narrow hallway they were in. “You’re acting like you’re the only one he fucked over! And then you expect me to believe you would just stand by and watch me throw my life away, just to get back at him?!”

It took several seconds for Jake to cease his attacks once Leon had lost consciousness. Only then did he limp back to Sherry, gathering her slender frame up in his arms. Screw the rest of them, he was only here for the one person that mattered to him.

"Damn it, Jill." Chris muttered. She was the only one who could speak sense to him. He hated that. "Fine. What's the plan?" He conceeded.

Ciara opened her eyes, forgetting where she was for a moment. The room was darker than she was used to and that didn't help. Billy's soft snore beside her only made matters worse and she fling herself off the bed searching the darkness for a weapon.

“We do what we came here for, and get Leon out before Wong gets her manicured nails back into him.” Jill replied, like it was the most simple thing in the world.

Billy slumbered on, even rolling over to where she had been lay and burying his face into the pillow that now smelled of her hair.

Chris shook his head. "What about Sherry and Jake. And... The girl? This is turning into a cluster fuck but we have to do something. We can't leave people behind."

Ciara settled for a coat hanger and managed to slide beneath the tiny table across the room. She'd fight to get free from this. She'd been here before.

Jill sighed heavily and simply leaned back against the wall before sliding down it. She sat like that for some moments before she looked up at her husband again. “You think I’m a monster, don’t you?” She asked finally. “Every time we’ve been in these situations since... Africa, and I’ve had to use the enhancements the virus and the drug left me with, you’ve just... acted differently.”

Billy was smiling as he breathed the pillow in, but as his body realised something was off, he slowly opened his eyes. There had been another warm body sleeping next to him when he lay here. “Clara?” He called as he sat up and ran a hand over his face to try and wake himself up.

Chris noticed that Jill didn't mention the girl. For some reason that bothered him more than her accusation. "No." He whispered. "I just... I feel like my weak. Like... I can't keep up. I feel useless. "

"I was good!" Ciara shouted from under the table. "I didn't tell anyone!" It was proof that most monsters were living ones, not bioengineered.

Jill had gone through the loss of their own child all alone. It was something she had never truly gotten over, and no one had ever really asked. “I can’t change what happened to me.” She breathed. 
“I can’t change how I was first infected, or what Wesker did all those years later. But if I could... I would give anything to be normal. To... be your Jill.” Her voice hitched slightly on that last part.

Billy was very much awake now and slowly moving around the bed to crouch in front of the table, though was careful enough to keep a few feet of space between them. “Ciara, you know I would never hurt you.” He breathed.

"I'm sorry, Jill. What do you want me to say? I feel like I'm an outsider. Like you guys have been given secrets that I just don't know anything about. "

" Turn on the lights... " Ciara whispered, her hand shaking as she waved the hanger in his direction.

The look on Jill’s face showed how much his words felt like a betrayal. “You know what, I am sick to death of babying your enormous ego!” She snapped as she got back to her feet. “Let me make this real easy for you...” Every muscle in Jill’s body felt like it was shaking as she squared up to her partner. “We’re done.” Those two words were no more than a whisper. “You’re so worried about feeling like an outsider... when all I ever wanted from you was to treat me like you always did. I guess I was expecting too much.”

Billy nodded and slowly rose to his feet, making sure to keep his hands where Ciara could see them. Once he was upright he backed over to the wall and hit the switch. “See... just a boring old meathead.”

"You're the one who brought it up." Chris hissed. "I am always honest with you and this is where it gets me?" He too was on his feet, the space between them growing larger. " I never treated you differently. Hell, I forced you out of the field because I wanted to keep my Jill with me."

A wild head of blonde hair peeped out from under the table, indigo eyes sweeping the room. It took her a moment to realize where they were and how they'd gotten there.

“No, you forced me out of the field to keep me from stealing your glory!” Jill shot back. “I was always a field agent, and you took that away from me! You were suffering PTSD, and still couldn’t even tell me! You talk about being an outsider, but I consistently have to track you down through other people!”

“You still going to poke me with that thing?” Billy asked with a smirk, though wisely didn’t move any closer.

"If you still feel like this... Then why the hell did you come back with me?" Chris had finally had enough. He was furious. " You're looking for a reason to get me out of here. It's not going to work. I'm going after that son of a bitch and you can't stop me. "

Ciara didn't answer, she looked down at the makeshift knife she'd made. "Sorry." She muttered. "It wasn't easy growing up in the system. I still have trouble finding out where I am."

“The problem is... you don’t want me to!” Jill roared. “You were off rescuing Jessica while I was losing our baby!”

Billy slowly moved forward and lightly rested his large hands over Ciara’s. “It isn’t easy growing up.” He assured her simply. “But kid... you have a family now, don’t you want to be with them?”

"A baby you didn't even bother to tell me about!" Chris shouted back. "not until she was dead!"

" Why do you keep asking if I want to be with people who didn't want me? " Ciara asked. " I owe them nothing. "

“You left me, Chris!” Jill roared. “You left me a fucking note, and just walked out on us!” The slender brunette was so angry she was shaking now, knowing she had to walk away from this argument before it got the better of her.

“I know it seems that way.” Billy assured her gently. “But you’ve seen some weird shit these past few weeks, right? Imagine having to grow up in the middle of that?”

"I thought I was doing the right thing. You wanted freedom, I gave it to you. For god sake, Jill. I was trying to do the right thing. " Chris groaned, shoving his fingers through his hair. "Look... I guess we're never going to get past this. You should go..." The words hurt him but he knew what needed to be done.

Ciara didn't answer, for a while longer she sat beneath the table. "If they were so wonderful they'd have been able to protect me. Can we... Not talk about that anymore? "

“No Chris, you were doing the easy thing.” Jill shot back. “What about all the times you accused me of sleeping with Carlos? Parker? Shit, you even thought I had a thing with Wesker! I never gave you any reason to doubt my fidelity, but you did anyway!” She simply shook her head and began to walk away. They needed to cool off, and they needed to finish what they came here to do.

“I never said they were perfect, they are only human.” Billy pointed out as he sat back down on the edge of the bed, allowing Ciara the space to come out in her own time.

Chris walked the other way, his body on fire. It had nothing to do with his wounds. Wesker's plan had worked.
"Is it true?" Rebecca asked, slowly sitting up on the table where she'd been laying. "About the baby?"

"Humans are the worst kind of monsters." Ciara said darkly. She finally crawled out and sat next to Billy. "Besides you, I can't trust anyone."

Jill had sat down in the corner of the room to compose herself when Rebecca’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Which one?” She asked, red rimmed eyes glancing across at someone she had once considered a friend.

“Brat, you really shouldn’t.” Billy breathed, though his voice was gentle as he said it.

"Both." The tiny woman slipped on the shirt Wesker's had left for her and got down, her bare feet cold on the icy floor. "The baby Wesker's forced you to have... Was it real?"

"You cared about me when no one else did. How could I not trust you? " She asked him, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Jill dropped her gaze back to her feet, not sure if she even really wanted an answer to that question. “I don’t know.” She finally breathed. “I don’t remember... but I was in a coma for over a year, and trusting the word of Wong is the last thing I would ever do.”

“I was a puppet, kiddo.” Billy replied hoarsely. “How can I trust that the doc actually did what she said and removed the control from me?”

Rebecca sighed softly. "We need to find out if it's true. Despite it being Wong's story, that is something the Captain would do if he thought it would hurt you and Chris. " She came to a stop in front of Jill. " Do you want to find the girl?"

"Do you feel different?" Ciara asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder. " Can you hear the voice anymore?"

“Yeah, well... obviously Chris and I didn't need fucking Wesker to drive us apart.” Jill snorted, quickly trying to wipe at her eyes before any tears dropped free. “Honestly, I’m scared of the truth. If there is a child, then Chris would never accept her. If there isn’t... I’ve...” Jill cut herself off, chastising herself for talking to Rebecca like she wasn’t literally sleeping with Jill’s greastet enemy.

Billy stared off into a space for a moment, then shook his. “But just because I don’t hear it now, doesn’t mean it won’t come back, right?” He replied, glancing down at the small blonde beside him.

Rebecca nodded. She knew why Jill had stopped and didn't blame her. "I'm not going to say I'm sorry." She said after a moment of heavy silence. "I love him, Jill. I've loved him since... The beginning. And before you say anything... I know he doesn't love me back. "

"Billy... It's gone. The device he used to control you is gone. " Ciara reminded him, leaning forward to touch the scars on his chest.

“Of course he doesn’t, monsters can’t love.” Jill replied bitterly. “How can you turn a blind eye to the misery he has caused?!”

Billy signed heavily and reasted his much larger hand over Ciara’s. “But the fear isn’t.” He told her honestly. “I could say the same thing to you, you know.” He pointed out gently. “You’re not in a foster home anymore, but you can’t let go either.”

"Maybe... He's not so wrong." Rebecca said thinly. "Maybe we are the ones who have been wrong all this time. You really think humans are worth saving? The weak kick and scream and beg for a handout. There is no use for people like that. He is right to want to think the herd."
She added darkly.

Ciara sighed softly, closing her eyes. " It was hell there. How can I let go? How can I want to see the ones who left me there?"

“And why should he be the one who gets to decide?” Jill countered. “He’s far from perfect.”

“To ask them why?” Billy suggested gently. “You understand, before you cast judgement? Believe me, I know a little about feeling the brunt of people’s misconceptions.”

"Not the point!" Rebecca shouted. "He is smart and strong. That is what it takes to survive. Why do think you are still alive? Why do you think he wanted to use your genes? You are worthy." She added, her tone softening greatly.

"What if the answer is worse than not knowing?" Ciara asked him, her eyes sweeping his face.

“Trust me, I’m far from worthy of anything.” Jill replied defeatedly. All the effort Wesker had put into counteracting all her efforts with the BSAA over the years, and all he really needed do was wait for her to sabotage the only meaningful relationship she had ever had.

“I can’t answer that for you.” Billy breathed. “But I can tell you I think you’re strong enough to face the answer.”