Thicker than Water

Alex Chambers stood on the helicopter landing pad his fingers pressed to his forehead to block out the morning sun. He was dancing from one foot to the other, unable to hide his excitement.
"I see them!" He shouted back to his mother, who was standing near the entrance with a medical team. None of them knew what kind of shape their heroes would return to them in but Alex didn't seem to care. Already he was hopping up and down waving at the chopper as it drew closer. He cheered when Chris Redfield waved to him and repeated the action when Jill Valentine did the same. But as the helicopter touched down his smile began to fade. Not everyone he'd hoped to see was stepping out.
"What happened?" Rebecca Chambers soon came to stand beside her son, her lips set in a thin line as she looked from Chris to Jill. "Where is Parker?" She'd done her best to keep herself from saying this man's name first but she couldn't seem to help herself. "Where's Jessica?" She added, hoping this would make for a decent cover up.

Jill looked up at Chris, not sure what to say. She didn't want to speak of death and betrayal in front of Alex. "Parker is... Jessica was..." She groaned quietly and removed her hat, smoothing her fingers over her dark hair. Even she didn't fully have her head wrapped around everything yet. "How about we get inside before we debrief?" She added, deciding to hide behind her business face.

Alex all but threw his arms around Jill, hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad you guys made it back." He breathed. Off all the people the seven year old boy knew at the BSAA headquarters, Jill seemed to be his favorite.
Chris rested a hand on the boy's shoulder, reminded as always of the past that never quite left them. This was just like looking at Albert Wesker. More often than not he simply chose to avoid the boy. It was better for all of them that way.
"I'll get the debriefing started." He told Jill, removing his hand almost as fast as he'd put it there. "You get some rest."

Jill was still holding Alex when Chris told her she didn't need to attend the debriefing. "There's time for rest when I'm dead." She told her partner, her usual response when he inadvertently hinted that he could carry on for longer than she could without rest. "So, Alex, I hope you were a good babysitter for me while we were gone. Did you take good care of your mom?" She asked, ruffling his hair affectionately.

Alex gave her an impish grin that was nothing but a mirror of his mother. "I did my best. But she keeps working all those late hours in the labs and stuff and they won't let me go in there. With you and Parker gone I was bored!" He wailed, glad to have a sympathetic ear for once. "There's only so many times I can read those medical books on Mom's shelf."
Chris gave a snort, though it was more for the argument than anything else. "Becky, she's got a cut she won't let me see." He told the tiny woman who was looking forlornly at the helicopter. He knew Rebecca well enough to know she wouldn't let Jill go anywhere until she'd gotten to the bottom of a cut. Even a simple one. "You get that looked at Jill Billy. I'll take care of the debriefing."

Jill narrowed her sky blue eyes at Chris, silently resolving to give him some kind of revenge for this. "I may have a cut, but your the one who swallowed infected water." She told Chris with an overly sacrine smile as she took Alex's hand and disappeared through the door into the stairwell.

Chris imagined himself being tackled by Rebecca for all the gusto she showed getting him strapped down to a table and rushed into the medical wing. He would plot revenge. Oh yes. Jill Valentine would regret this.

"So? Where's Parker?" Alex asked as they reached the first hallway. "Did he stay behind to help with clean up?" He added hopefully, fixing Jill with a pair of blue eyes that were so dark they were almost the color of twilight.

"Hey, cutie, I thought you swore never to be admitted here again?" A beautiful nurse told Chris with a playful smile as she cleaned his arm to take a sample of his blood.

Jill had never been very good at lying to Alex, he was just too damn smart. "Parker stayed behind so Chris and I could get out and bring some very important information back here." it wasn't a complete lie.

"Oh you know." Chris chuckled, offering her the smile that never failed him. Well...almost never. Jill seemed somehow immune. Not that he was trying for her or anything. "I missed you in that sexy nurse's outfit, Marie." He purred. "Been a while since I've seen you out of it come to think of it."

Alex's eyes immediately went to the floor and his chin quivered violently. He was trying so hard to be brave. His mother would have hated to see him cry. "So...He's dead?" He asked, his voice cracking.

Marie grinning, biting her full lower lip slightly as she glanced around to see if anyone was watching, or listening. "Far too long." She agreed in a sultry purr. "I get off at eight, when you're done playing hero." She breathed, pretending to lean down and fluff Chris pillow, though instead she pressed her lips to his own. That done just one of Chris many female admirers returned to taking his blood sample.

"Oh sweetie, I didn't say that!" Jill breathed, dropping to her knees and pulling the upset little boy into her arms. "You know Parker, he just likes to play around. He's probably sat on a beach somewhere right now." She added, wishing even she believed that.

Chris couldn't help the stupid grin he wore and was glad that Rebecca wasn't around to see it. He'd never hear the end of the questions and he wanted to avoid them until all of this was over. not to mention he was worried she'd ask him about Parker. As if he didn't feel guilty enough.

Alex was gasping now, trying to keep himself under control. This was how he favored his father. Every waking moment was spent keeping a cool exterior no matter what was going on inside. "Momma told me not to get close." He whispered. "She said not to talk to him...but...but...I liked him. He was nice...It's...It's not fair!" He didn't do half as well as his father had at keeping those emotions in check.

Marie took the sample and smiled at Chris again, winking before she turned away. This particular nurse was all too aware of just how desirable she was, and felt it was only right that she should have the most desirable man in the BSAA. The brunette's shapely rear swayed as she walked away, casting one more glance over her shoulder before the door shut behind her.
Of course Chris wasn't actually infected, this had simply been Jill's revenge for him trying to shut her out of the briefing.

"No sweetie, it isn't fair." Jill agreed gently. "But that's why Chris and I do what we do. We go out there and fight the bad guys, so you and your mom can stay safe, and together." She breathed, pulling away from the sobbing child slightly so she could use her sleev to blot at his tears. "We will never stop protecting you, I promise."

"Sometimes I wish I was never born!" Alex wailed, never knowing that when his mother had first found out about him she had had wished the same thing. "It's not fair!" This time the little boy broke completely and buried his head on Jill's shoulder, wailing loudly.
"Buck up, kiddo. Having Jill back isn't such a bad thing." Chris said lightly as he stepped into the hall. This only made Alex cry harder.

Jill glared up at Chris, then got to her feet, lifting Alex up with her as she did so. "Real smooth, Chris. You make Claire cry like this too?" She added, noting the faint trace of lipstick on her partners lips. "Figures..." She growled with a snort. "Go clean yourself up. I'm taking Alex back to his mother. I'll debrief her myself."

"Oh yeah. So you can leave out all the good stuff?" Chris snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"What's so good about it?!" Alex wailed even louder at this. "He was my friend!"

"And how is you doing it any better? You'll charge in with all the tact of a bull ink a china shop!" Jill shot back, her own anger bubbling just below the surface. "Jeez, Chris, we're not even back an hour and the first thing you do is go crawling to one of the brainless bimbos you have following you around! I hardly think you are the one qualified to tell Rebecca anything at all!"

"Since when did getting laid make me unable to debrief the heads of the BSAA?!" Chris snapped back, glaring daggers at Jill. "You're just jealous."
"Can I get down?" Alex asked softly, trying to wiggle out of Jill's arms. She was squeezing him a little harder than she probably should have.

Jill hadn't realised how tight she was holding Alex, and did let him wriggle free and put his feet back on the ground. "Oh yeah, real jealous!" She hissed. "Wow, I wish I could be trawling around, picking up just as many STD's as you probably have by now!" That said, she punched her partner. A slap would have done it, but Jill was beyond angry now. "Come on Alex, let's go see your mom." She whispered, holding out her hand for the little boy.

"Yeah well...at least I don't have to worry about my date falling asleep before it gets started!" Chris roared, he too showing signs of losing his temper.
Alex was already shaking his head and backing away from Jill. "No...I don't want to hear her say..."
As if on cue, Rebecca burst through the doors that led out to the hall, yanking on a heavy coat. "They found Parker...I'm going with the medical team...Alex...stay with Jill. Okay?" She paused to kiss her son on the head and then just as soon as she was there, she was gone.

Jill didn't respond to Chris wounding insult. It cut her deep, to believe that was how he truly saw her. Silently she lifted Alex back into her arms and walked in the opposite direction Rebecca had left. She was beyond exhausted, but now needed to keep going for Alex's sake, as Chris sure wouldn't help.

"Let go!" Alex hissed, using a commanding voice. He rarely used it, since it all but made his mother cry. "I want to go with her!"

Rebecca was digging through her medical kit, hoping it was enough. She was already fishing for her cell phone, hoping Jill wouldn't hate her for leaving so quickly.

"well you can't." Jill replied bluntly. "Your mother left, putting you in my care. I promised I would never let anything happen to you, even before you were born."

Parker had been regaining consciousness only for a few moments at a time. Everything seemed wrong, far too bright and noisy. It was like a dream that he couldn't seem to shake.

"Why would you promise something like that?" Alex pressed, his lips set in a thin line that made him look exactly like Albert Wesker.
"I think you need a nap." Chris muttered, desperate to wipe the look off the younger Wesker's face. Even if it meant hitting a child. He made a grab for Alex and turned him to face the wall.

"Parker!" The moment the chopper was near enough to the ground Rebecca leaped out of it and ran to where the man lay on the beach. The operatives that found him hadn't dared to move him yet.
She was barking orders moments later, yanking off Parker's shirt to get to the wound on his chest. "Stay with me, Parker. You hear me?!"

"Get out of here!" Jill growled at Chris, trying to pull Alex close to her again, though her much larger partner was now blocking her reach. "You can't treat him that way!"

"Hey... Doc..." Parker murmured. "Now I know I'm dead... You are never really there when I see you..."

Chris felt stupid. He wanted to tell Jill that. Instead he childishly pointed at the boy who was glaring hatefully at him. "He shouldn't look so much like....like him!" He roared.

"That's what they all say." Rebecca smiled, her fingers brushing the expanse of Parker's now bare chest. "You never do anything half-assed, do you?" She muttered, yanking open her kit to find her tweezers. "The damn thing is too close to your heart...get over here!" She shouted to someone else. "Parker...keep talking to me."

"Yeah? Well you shouldn't be such a jerk! But we don't always get what we ask for!" Jill growled, shoving Chris aside to kneel down in front of Alex. "It's okay sweetie. Chris doesn't mean the nasty things he says. He's still sick from all the dirty water he drank when we were gone." as she hugged Alex tightly, Jill screwed her eyes shut, wishing she didn't think of what her own child would look like each time she held the boy.

"Hey... Ripping my clothes off now, doc?" Parker chuckled. "You sure you don't wanna wait until we're alone?"

Alex relaxed in Jill's arms and buried his face in her hair. "Did Momma say she was going to get Parker? Does that mean he's okay?"
"Not hardly. It's probably just to get what's left of him." Chris said before he'd thought better of it. He winced when the boy began to cry all over again. He could almost feel Jill's fist connecting with his jaw again. This was not his day.

"Alone is never an option, Parker. You know that." Rebecca said gently. "Now tell me a story and keep your eyes closed. All right?"

Jill still held Alex in her arms, and so didn't punch Chris this time. Instead she calmly turned and slammed her knee up into his privates. "See how well you perform now." She spat, deciding it was probably safer for Alex if she took him back to her own apartment, rather than stay at Rebecca's.

"What kind of story?" Parker asked, though he kept his eyes open. "The kind that has my beautiful doctor giving me a sponge bath?" He asked with. Goofy grin, clearly he had lost a lot of blood.

Chris found himself on the floor, close to tears of agony. He had to admit that he'd taken things way too far but who could blame him? When they weren't fighting for their lives, Chris did a lot of stupid things around Jill.

"Something true maybe?" Rebecca put in, resting her hand over Parker's eyes. "Closed, mister. I don't want you screaming like a girl. It would ruin that whole bad boy image I have of you."

"Come anywhere near Alex, and I'll castrate you next time." Jill swore, adding further insult to Chris' situation by stepping over him like he was trash. Jill's mind certainly wasn't clear as she bundled Alex into her waiting car and sped through the darkened streets. At times her partner confused her beyond all reason. For some reason he seemed to go out of his way to be the biggest asshole on the planet, and then... There were the times he was the best friend she could ever ask for.

"Bad boy... I like that." Parker chuckled. "Was that what drew you to Alex's father?" He asked, obviously knowing just how far Alex's father had taken his 'bad boy' persona.