Lost in Memories

First topic message reminder :

“Yeah, I got it. I’ll look at the files you sent and see what the techs here think about it. Sure... coffee when your next here.” 
There was a forced chuckle, then the line went dead. Jill Valentine hated playing her part in company politics. That was why she jumped on every chance to be out in the field. Mutations and nasty weather she could handle... but the director of the London office who just couldn’t take a hint? That was something she would rather not deal with. She let out a heavy sigh and opened up the email that contained the files she had just been speaking about. So much for an early finish. There were pages and pages of lab reports that didn’t even make sense to her.

Oddly, Jill found herself smiling. Just like the man who’s face this stranger had, he seemed upset at the sacrifice she made to save Chris. “As I said before, the Jill Valentine you speak of is dead.” She told him calmly. “Thank you for this new information though, I’m sure I can disprove it without the need to bother anyone else.” She added, smoothing down the front f her t shirt, as though him keeping her here after everyone else had left was no more than a mild annoyance.

“Well... yeah, but... you didn’t, and I want to eat it with you.” He replied with a carefree smile as he ran his fingers through his hair. His words had betrayed the fact he had been watching Rebecca before her accident, clearly keen for a reason to speak with her.

The man took a step back, making a show of holding up his hands. "Then by all means, my dear. You go ahead and do that. Please." He took another step back, this time seeming to disappear into the darkness that had suddenly sprung up around them. 

Rebecca arched an eyebrow, making it clear she didn't trust this man. "All right. Where should we go then?"

Jill stared at the spot where he had stood. Every part of her was screaming that she needed to tell Chris, they had to do something about this. But then, she remembered how broken he had been after losing Piers. No, she had to be certain first. Slowly Jill backed away, as though too afraid to turn her back on the man who looked so much like every one of her nightmares.

Riley saw the mistrust and felt his chest suddenly grow tight. “I mean, we don’t have to, you know. If you prefer, I can go grab your friend.:: Jill, was her name?”

"Jill!" Chris' shout for his lover would draw away her attention just long enough. When she turned back her familiar nightmare was gone. "Jill...Rebecca...i can't find her. She never went back to her office and she's not answering her phone." He paused in his frantic speech to look at her, worry in his deep blue eyes. "Are you okay? What happened?" 

"No...No...That's okay. She's busy with Chris. Besides, I'm starving and a steak won't wait." Rebecca said with a soft laugh. She was beginning to get a rather large black eye. By morning it would swell shut completely. "Come on, hero. You've got to tell me what position you were playing. I'm not sure I saw you out there."

Jill glanced behind her one more time, then simply smiled at Chris. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t drag up ancient history and hurt him by giving hope Piers was alive without any real proof. Instead she took his hand and squeezed it tightly. “What was this about Rebecca? You sure she didn’t just go home?”

“Oh I don’t know about that, looks like we need to put steak on your eye, not in your belly.” Riley replied with a teasing grin.

Chris shook his head. His lips were set in a thin line. He need something to help him forget what was going on. He needed to forget that he felt like he'd driven his sister away. "It's not like her not to clean up her office." He muttered. "Come on. Let's go check and see. At least I'd feel better about something he added. Besides, you need to eat something. I'm not sure you've done that in a day or two." 

"I'll live." Rebecca laughed. "It's not the first time I've taken one for the team..." She paused, a deep blush stealing over her cheeks. "I didn't mean it like that. Oh god. That sounded so stupid."

“There was an olive in my drink last night...” Jill replied with a half smile, all too worried by Chris’ somber mood. “You know how much Rebecca hates these team events.:. I guess it reminds her of the teams we lost...”

Riley couldn’t help the sudden snort of laughter. “Oh really? I guess it’s... nice, you BSAA guys are that, uhm, close...” He replied with a smirk.

Chris closed his eyes for a long moment remembering the rivalry of a simple ball game between the two teams. He and Barry made them into a fiasco as Wesker referred to them. Both teams were extremely competitive but no one more than Chris. At least until Jill arrived. She'd certainly given him a run for his money. Even if Wesker had gotten to her first. "I need a beer." He muttered, his eyes still closed. "Let's get some food and something to drink and see if Becky shows up." 

Rebecca pulled her face up over her shirt. "Not funny." She groaned. "Forget I said anything...listen...are we going to eat or anything? Can we change the subject? Do you have a car?" She was firing questions at him, desperate to get his mind off the stupid things she'd said.

Jill knee that look Chris now wore, as she saw it in her own face when she looked in the mirror. “Hey...” Gently her fingers reached out and brushed his cheek, forcing Chris to look at her. “Everything will be fine, I promise.” Even as she breathed the words, Jill understood what a hypocrite she was, but she refused point blank to lay more worry on Chris’ already weary shoulders.

Riley didn’t mind all the questions, even while he was driving. He loved to listen to Rebecca talk, about anything. “Do we need to make a stop anywhere? There’s a lot of blood on your shirt, which sort of puts me in a bad light...” He remarked, though was clearly only teasing her.

Sitting down at the burger joint proved to be yet another mistake. The noise and the smells reminded Chris of the after parties. There were teams and loud shouts of the winners and losers that sent him back to the hell of his memories. For a moment he was even certain he could even see little Claire sitting in the midst of the group trying to do her homework while he kept himself sober so that he was a good role model for her. Never mind that he was far too busy staring at Jill to bother with drinking. 
She was sitting in Wesker's lap. She didn't even notice him. It didn't matter how he acted or what he did. Chris never could figure out how or when that had all changed. 

Rebecca stood in the store, an armful of t-shirts in hand. She had no real intentions of going back out. It was too hard. Riley's soft laughter was far too familiar. He sounded so much like Billy. She was terrified she was going to try on her new choice of clothing only to find this man gone just like the last one. Gingerly she glanced down at the sparkling ring still on her left finger. Why was she still so broken? Why was this harder to let go of than other parts of her past? Why couldn't she just let it all go?

Jill was also trying to drown out the cheers and fake cries of false play around them. She was sat beside Chris, swirling a fry through the blob or mayonnaise on the side of her plate. A very slight smile tugged at her lips, remembering how Joseph had made such a massive deal over her choice of dipping condiment. The smile quickly faded however and she was reminded of how alone she and Chris really were now. They each had a reputation if. Ring the very best, but in all truth... she didn’t feel the best, she simply felt... unlucky. What had they done to keep having to watch those around them suffer?

“Uh, hey... there isn’t a window In there you’re thinking of crawling out of, is there?” Riley asked nervously. “I mean, I would t blame you!” He added, a hand running through dark hair. “I’d rather think your just overwhelmed. Y the outstanding ring choice of cute puppy t shirts they have here...”

"I should have killed the bastard that night. I never should have left until I knew he was nothing but a bucket of sludge. Screw the giant monster. He wasn't the threat and I knew it." Chris hissed, shoving his food away. "When Wesker shot Rebecca I knew it. There was no more guess work involved. He was always right about me. I'm a fucking moron and it cost so many people their lives." 

Rebecca sat on the stool in the dressing room, holding her breath. There it was again. That laugh and those sheepish words that made her stomach twist. She sucked in a breath, holding the puppy shirt against her and feeling even dumber for it. "I can't." She whispered. "I'm sorry. I just...I can't. You should go..."

“Hey...” Jill’s voice was close to his ear this time. “Don’t do this to yourself, Chris.” She breathed. “He fooled us all. Neither of us saw the monster in the man until it was too late. I... I should’ve listened to my gut. I always felt something was off, but he was the captain, he had us doing so much good before...” Her voice trailed off and she stared down at the cold fries in front of her. “It’s my fault, not yours. Every time... I should’ve been able to stop him, but I never could.”

“Okay, you better hope your decent in there, because I’m coming in!” Riley declared, the door shoving open a moment later. “I promised you a fun time, right? I’m failing, pretty fucking spectacularly.” He had crouched in front of Rebecca now, looking more like a puppy than the ones on the shirt. “Can we start over?”

"I hated the guy. Even before you showed up. He gave me hell from day one. I don't think he ever said one nice thing to me. Not even kiss my ass. He just beat the shit out of me like he really thought I was  going to quit." Chris snorted. "He'd talk shit about Claire and how I was raising her. And then when you came...even before us...he..." Chris shook his head and swallowed hard. "He tried to kill me in training and I thought it was just him trying to make sure I didn't quit. Why did't I see it?" 

"NO." The word was firm and curt. It wasn't a tone Rebecca used often. Warm tears were sliding down her cheeks. "You need to go. Now." She was pointing toward the door, trying to keeping the hammering of her heart all to herself.

“I wanted so badly for you to see me.” Jill breathed, letting her fingers slide through Chris’ dark hair as she watched him. “But you never did. I was alone in a new town.... I can’t forgive myself for it, but letting him claim me the way I did... It was me being terrified of being alone.” She swallowed hard and pressed her forehead to his broad shoulder. “I was an idiot for not seeing what it was he was doing... He had caught me watching you, he didn’t like the thought of you having something he didn’t.”

Riley wasn’t so easily dissuaded. He reached a rough thumb out and wiped at Rebecca’s tears. “Sorry, girlscout... you’re going to have to kick me out yourself for that happen.” He breathed.

Chris pushed back from the table, unable to handle the smell of the food anymore. "He's dead. All those shit heads are. We need to let it go. We need to move on. Aren't you the one who said that?" 

Rebecca punched Riley in the face and threw the puppy shirt over his head. She then leap frogged over him and made a run for the front of the store. He'd asked for it. Simple enough.

Jill didn’t agree or disagree. In fact, she said nothing at all as she too rose to her feet, far more calmly than Chris had. Like any man, he should be worried when a woman didn’t get angry in the heat of an argument. Jill simply dropped some money onto their table and headed for the door. Move on? How was she supposed to that when a ghost of the past he wished her to forget wouldn’t leave her be?

Riley hit the floor with a grunt, wondering how someone so small could punch so hard. It was like a tiny little jackhammer to his nose, which was nose spraying blood everywhere.

Chris would pass by the familiar stranger without noticing him but again Jill would not. Albert Wesker's copy tapped his temple as he smiled at the slender blonde. "Not doing so well it would seem." He purred, leaning against the door frame between her and the exit. "Your pillar of strength is cracking. How interesting. I wonder what it would take to make him break? One more little tap?"

Rebecca made it back to her office and then back to her apartment. She shut herself inside, locking herself away from the world as she always did. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she let him go? Billy was never coming back. He'd chosen to walk away from her without even saying goodbye. So why did she let that hurt her so much?

Jill’s tired gaze met those of the familiar voice addressing her and she knew there had been a spark of fear in them. She clung to a secret no one else in the world knew, one that would make her sound like the worlds worst partner; why had Chris been broken when he lost his team, but it had been business as usual when she had been presumed KIA? “Trust me, there is nothing left in this world that could break him.” She finally declared, words with two different meanings depending on what information you had.

“Whos blood is that?” A soft voice asked from the darkness on the other side of Rebecca’s living room. The lights were still all off, but somehow the owner of the distinctly female, and very familiar, voice had known there was blood splattered on Rebecca’s shirt.