Blue on Black

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Leon Kennedy starred at his gun as he heard the truck shudder into the drop zone. It was never going to get any easier. It didn't matter how many times he came into these towns and cleaned them out. 
It had nothing to do with the people. It was Claire Redfield. He saw her everywhere. The same scenario played out in his mind. In the end he was in her arms. Except...he wasn't. For the most part, he was alone. Until he was calling a phone number that made his chest hurt just to make the chill inside him go away. 
"Claire..." He breathed as he stepped off the truck and looked around. "Will you ever forgive me?" 

Rebecca Chambers didn't share Leon's sense of loneliness. The mousy haired woman was rather happy living alone. She'd seen far too many of her friends and loved ones die to believe in anything but science. 
At the moment she was seated on the floor of her office chewing on her pen, watching a video about the bio-experiments that had been newly discovered from Raccoon city. She didn't seem to be buying a word of it.

"Yeah." Chris breathed back, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry I believed those stupid letters. I woke up on the field with Sherry and you were gone. The news report... I saw you and Carlos walking away in the background. And then the letter started."

"That's because Jake wouldn't go quietly." Molly replied. "Look there's other things listed. Guns. Heavy ammo and drugs. Restraints. Fucking hell you bastard, he is a teenager!"
"Not quite." The principal answered. " Your husband has had him on genetic therapy since he arrived. He has aged quite quickly in fact. He is now around 19 in fact."

"You..." Jill finally peeled herself away from Chris to look up at him with fat tears clinging to her dark lashes. "You thought I left with Carlos?" She breathed, feeling betrayed just by the idea he thought she would do that. "Chris... I couldn't speak, I could barely walk after what that woman did to me!" She sniffed and screwed her eyes shut. "I'm such an idiot. I actually thought you were going to propose that night. I thought our family would be completes once I told you the news."

"19?!" Al hissed, his pale blue eyes blazing as he advanced on the principal and slammed him up against the wall. "I have done no such thing to MY son!" He could feel the very thing Molly had feared happening; he could feel the monster within awakening.

"I had this absurd idea planned out. I was going to ask you in the middle of that zombie dance. All of the kids were going to stop dancing and I was going to stand in the middle. In this absurd outfit and I was going to get down on one knee while they all got down  and pretended to attack me. I was going to say something stupid like I only need one person to save me for the rest of my life and they were all going to say Jill in this stupid zombie voice and then you were supposed to come in save me. But then you disappeared. And then all that shit happened. And you left with him. What was I supposed to think?" Chris asked, knowing he was rambling.

"What did you think this place was Mr Wesker? Did you really think it was a school for especially smart children? Or especially rich children?" The silver haired man was wheezing his eyes wide with terror. 
Molly was at his side, her fingers resting on his forearm. "This won't help. We have to go. We know where they are. We're going to be too late if we don't leave now."

If possible, Jill was even closer to tears now. They had been so close. She had found out that morning she was pregnant, she was going to tell him after the game. Then Carlos told her Sherry was in danger and all hell broke loose. The day should have been perfect, judging by all the trouble she now knew he had gone to to plan that surprise. "Sop saying that!" She howled. "I didn't LEAVE with him, I was taken!" The tears now dripped down her blood smeared cheeks. "Then I woke up here, and that... that thing clawed it's way out of me! Chris... I don't even know if it was because of what happened to me in RC... Or something that was DONE to me. I was only 7 weeks..."

Al didn't release his grip, though the sound of Molly's voice did calm him enough to push the beast back. "And do you think I'm Albert Wesker?" He sneered, slamming the older man's head into the wall and dropping his body to the ground.

The bitterness settled in his throat. They hadnt been back together long enough. It wasn't his child. But he wasn't going to tell Jill this.  "Show me the baby." He said softly. There was nothing else to say at the moment.

"Al..." Molly sighed. 
Later in the car she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. She would never see her son again. She had to resign herself to this. "Maybe he got away." She whispered. "Do you think there's a chance that he could have gotten away?" She asked during glance at him. She had no idea that her thought patterns were leading her in the right direction.

She could feel it like a physical gulf between them. He had pulled away, not in the physical sense, but Jill knew Chris Redfield, and she knew when he was hurting. But it left her to wonder... Did he known when she was? Silently Jill lead Chris into the bathroom, a long smear of blood trailing across the floor. Whatever this thing was, it grew fast, and 7 weeks may well have been seven days. "It can't leave the building, I've blocked every window and door, but it can move between rooms." She commented, gesturing to the vent in the wall. 

"19..." Al kept saying it, like if he said it enough times it wouldn't be true. "At that age I would think him capable of getting away, there's still hope." He assured Molly gently, resting a large hand on one of her knees.

Chris' jaw worked as he stepped toward the vent. He didn't look at Jill as he stopped. "Is it a boy or a girl?" He whispered. "Does it look like you?" He had always imagined a girl that had her beautiful eyes. 
He didn't wait for an answer as he held out his hands to the vent. "No need to hide kiddo." He said gently. "You have to be cold in there. Come here. I won't hurt you."

"I saw Sherry Birkins name on that list too. Maybe they got her instead." Molly sniffed. "Jake is going to think I'm dead. Or hate me." She whispered.

Jill was quick to snatch Chris’ hand back as long claws swiped out of the vent. “Did you even hear what I told you?!” She hissed. “That… thing, it’s isn’t a child in need of love. It…” She closed her eyes and let go of his arm. Clawing it’s way out of her wasn’t even where the horror had ended. If Jill hadn’t healed quickly, she would have been dead from the wounds that came after.

“Jake is your son, that means he’s as smart as he is strong.” Al assured Molly gently. “He know’s you would never give up on him, and for the record… Neither will I. On either of you.”

Chris turned to Jill, his hand on his gun. "What the hell is going on, Jill? You need to exain to me what's going on."

Molly smiled at him, hoping this was true." So what do we do now? Go after Spencer or look for Jake on case he escaped?"

Jill’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked up at Chris. She was feeling attacked, like he thought she had planned all this to hurt him somehow. “If I knew that, you think I would still be here?” She snapped, turning away from him to go reset the door barricade he had demolished when he forced his way in there.

“We should go for Jake, if the old fart was telling the truth, then your husband may already be one step ahead of us in locating the boy.” Al breathed.

While she was gone, Chris hefted his shotgun to the shoulder and began firing into the vents. The infant monster begins squealing angrily once the first of the shotgun pellets slammed into its strange flesh. Chris didn't stop however, his dreams of a child that looked like his beloved dying with every shot.

"He's not my husband." Molly snapped. "Don't say that again. That man died three years ago and personally I dodged a bullet." She laughed sheepishly. "Did I tell you he screwed Ada Wong?"

The disfigured creature that fell from the vent landed on it’s back, all too human looking eyes that did indeed match Jill’s now staring up at the ceiling vacantly. It still resembled a small child, however it’s hands looked to resemble the claws of a tyrant, and it’s limbs seemed disproportionately long, like those of a licker.
Jill had come running when she heard the shots, though she didn’t stop Chris. He had been strong enough to do what she was unable. She simply stood there, staring at the creature that had almost killed her. She had spent weeks trying to contain it as it grew, unable to explain why she hadn’t simply killed it. Little did she know, that too was something else that had been done to her. Jill had been conditioned to protect the offspring until it was large enough to no longer need her.

Al gave a quiet snort. “Hardly surprising, I hear it’s not exactly hard to get that woman on her back.” He remarked. “She crafts all those stories about how she has the Kennedy boy at her beck and call, yet It seems like she’s simply trying to fill the void he refused to fill.”

Chris moved to the monsterous child and stomped on its head. His dreams of having a chd of his own were over. Things were never going to stop going wrong. "It's done." He said softly when he heard Jill's ragged breaths behind him. "I'm going to burn it and then we're going home."

Molly landed in the icy waters, wishing she'd listened to her instincts and asked that they go after Spencer. Fighting the Reaper had never been easy but not having any sort of Wesker there made it ten times harder. Now the fact that he'd broken her neck and it would take a moment to heal it would cause yet another problem. Al was up there alone l. He was buying burgers with no ideas she'd just kicked a hornets nest.

Jill couldn’t move. Her lower lip was trembling and she could do nothing but stare at the remains of the creature that had hunted her for weeks now. When she had thought about children, she always thought it would be her, Chris, and a lake house in Montana. But now, the cold was he was acting towards her… that dream was shattered, over something she had had no control over.

Al was whistling quietly to himself as he waiting in line, scanning the crowd and smiling sadly as he saw the families all around him. He wanted that for Molly. If she would have him, he wanted them to be a family, not just with the now grown Jake… but a child all their own too.

Chris carried the creature past his sister and Leon who were arguing in the Jeep, carrying the remains. He held it close to his chest, feeling guilty for what he'd had to do. Finally he found a spot at the edge of the wooded area and began to dig as best he could. Then he lit the creature on fire and tossed it in. 

Molly managed to call him before her circuits fried on her phone. But her message was garbled by the sound of rushing water and the sound of someone jumping in after her.

Claire had been mid rant when she saw her brother walk past the jeep. She was staring wide eyed when she saw he carried the creature, that at least gave Leon a reprieve.
Jill was several minutes behind, walking like she was in some sort of trance. She was filthy, and her cobalt eyes seemed glassy, as though she didn’t recognise anything around her. Even another day, and exhaustion would have killed her.

Al had just picked up a large foamy coffee from the counter when he got Molly’s message. He instantly dropped the cup and walked off without even a mumbled sorry. He called her phone back several times, only to get nothing. He retraced his steps to where she was supposed to be waiting, only to find nothing but her bag left behind. He grabbed and and started shouting her name.

Leon made a grab for Jill as she passed the Jeep and hugged her gently. "We need to get you home." He breathed. "You don't need to watch that." He put her into the passanger seat, his eyes on Claire. "I'll be back. She needs help. I'm taking her to the apartment."

Molly was furious. She hated water. She always had. As her neck bones healed she clawed her way to the surface. She was going to murder Hunk. She hated the man. Especially now that she knew for certain the man had had a run in with her son.

Claire nodded, their argument on hold, for now, when she saw how awful Jill looked. “No, you stay with her… I’ll ride back with Chris.” She assured him. Despite how angry Claire had been, she carefully took Leon’s face between her hands and kissed him gently. She didn’t say any more, she just needed him to know how thankful she was that she had him.

“Molly!” Al was still calling her name, frantically searching the crowd. For that brief moment, it didn’t matter he was a monster; he was simply a man desperately searching for the woman he loved.

Leon was pretty sure he had figured out what was going on. By the time he'd gotten Jill clean and fed and she'd explained everything. He finally got her tucked into bed and sat down next to her. "You know this wasn't your fault." He said gently. "And that wasn't a baby. You have to know it."

Molly grasped the side of the dock and yanked herself onto the side. She lay there for a moment, gathering her thoughts. 
When she heard her name shouted she sat up. "Al?" Her voice came out as a garbled choke. She doubted he heard her over the crowd that was running around her.

Jill sat with her knees hugged up to her chest, staring at her toes. "I'd been so excited to tell him we were having a baby." She breathed. "But... He doesn't trust me." It was a tough realisation to come to. "He said he didn't even look for me..."

Al was there in an instant, dragging Molly into his arms to move her further away from the edge of the dock. "Was it him?" He breathed quietly as a crowd gathered. "Just nod your head if it was."

"He lied." Leon said softly. "It took Sherry all her strength to drag him off the field. He was near death and she was doing everything to make him leave and he was yelling for you. She told me everything before she left to find Carlos." He took the brush from the table and ran it through her hair, gently tackling the tangles. "She's more upset with him than I was when I found out. Which is why I wrote Chris the letters. He needed to get his head on straight and stop thinking you loved the other guy and not him." 

Molly nodded, knowing her cheeks were red. She slid her arms around Al's neck, suddenly feeling relieved. "I didn't even see him coming." She admitted. "I was waiting for you. I was watching you and then he was there. We exchanged blows for a bit and then someone else was behind me and it was all over. The bastard won. He fucking cheated!" She shouted.

“It was always him.” Jill breathed, not fighting Leon as he gently brushed her hair. “He pushed me away… Then didn’t care when he thought Carlos had me. I’m a horrible person, because all those months apart… I was just waiting form him to wake up and realise how good we were together.” She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, recalling the moment he pulled her out the midst of a zombie hoard while she and Carlos had been looking for Sherry. “I think time away from me was always good for him. He always deserved better.”

Al chuckled quietly, simply sitting there with the soggy Molly in his arms. “Yes, the mercenary cheated, lovely.” He mused. “I think perhaps you have grown too accustomed to always winning.” He teased.

Leon shook his head at this. "Chris will never be able to live without you, Jill. You know that." He made a sweeping gesture around him. "Even with Claire here he's made a mess of...well...of oh hell...this place looks like they've been holding a permanent rave party. They aren't getting a deposit back. That's for sure." He laughed as he continued to brush her hair. "The point is, the man needs you and so does his hopes, dreams and future. You have something to live for Jill. So don't ever give up for it. Just trust me when I say, he never gives up on you." He'd abandoned to brush while talking and gone to a drawer and pulled it open. Letters in messy hand writing spilled out. It would take her hours to read but each of them were a daily confession how sorry he was that he'd wronged her, of just how much he loved her and if she came back he'd change in anyway she asked. And then there were more, the letters that were written in the middle of the night and burned with cigarettes when he became angry over his lack of proper ways to say his feelings for her. It was all there. A thousand ways to say how much he loved Jill Valentine. 

Molly spluttered at the very idea. "That is not true. I can't remember the last time I won." She snapped, bitterly thinking of Wesker and Ada Wong. "We need to...Oh forget it. He probably did that because he doesn't know anything either." She snorted. "That was...unfair. I was actually enjoying the day. I can't remember the last time I did that." She reached up and wiped that salt water away from her eyes. "We were going to ride a stupid ride. I haven't done something like that since I was a kid." She tipped her head back, the thought suddenly striking her. "Have you ever ridden a coaster, Al?"

Jill picked up a handful of the letter’s Leon had exposed to her, opening them one by one and reading each word carefully. She didn’t speak, even though she knew Leon was still close by, but with each letter more tears welled up in her eyes until finally they spilled down her cheeks. They were two fools in love too hard headed to understand they lived only a half life so long as they weren’t together. “Oh Red…” She finally breathed his name, closing her eyes and closing her fingers around the necklace she still wore after all these years. One side was a gravel with Valentine, the other Redfield. He had given it to her after their first date, that’s how sure he had been they belonged together. Jill had laughed at the time, telling him he hadn’t seen her without make up yet, but still… she had never taken it off.

Al had been grinning until Molly asked him about riding a coaster. “W-what? Of course I have.” It was clear he was lying, if his stutter didn’t give him away, his caught in the headlights look would. “They’re for children, no need for adults to be riding them.” He added quickly, taking Molly’s hand and pulling her in the direction of the parking lot. “Are you still hungry? I’m disappointed I didn’t get my burger.”

Chris pulled up to the apartment, still dealing with what he'd done. He said nothing to Claire as he turned off the truck and got out. He lit a cigarette and simply stood there. He wasn't sure he could face Jill after what he'd done. 
"Don't say it." He muttered, hearing what he thought were his sister's footsteps coming toward him. "I made an ass of myself and I know it. I can't face her now and nothing you say is going to change my mind. You go on inside and get some sleep. I'm going to get some beer and set up camp on the porch. I need to drown this off. Not that it will help." 

"Later." Molly grinned, grabbing his hand and jumping out of his lap. It seemed she'd recovered nicely. "We're going coaster riding first." She dragged him back toward the rides, never knowing they'd gone right past the very man who'd just tried to end her life. 
"You're not going to scream are you?" A little girl with bright green eyes was tapping Al on the shoulder as the ride was filling up. Beside him Molly dissolved in a fit of laughter.

“Did it ever?” Claire was already indoors, having seen Jill approaching as soon as the engine went silent. Jill plucked the cigarette from Chris’ lips and took a long drag, her other arm curling around him as the laid her cheek against his chest. “Maybe we just need to drown together.” She breathed before taking another drag.

Al glanced back at the little girl, about to tell her to go annoy her own parents, but those eyes… something seemed … off. “Molly, I don’t think this is a good idea…” He murmured, glancing down at the track their carriage sat on. “This doesn’t look structurally sound.”

Chris looked down at Jill in surprise, not exactly sure how to handle such a delicate creature. Gingerly he wrapped an arm around her and then hugged her hard. "God Valentine...I'm sorry you have to keep dealing with me and my stupidness." He muttered. "Please...Just punch me. I deserve it." He kissed her forehead and didn't yet let her go. "I should have ignored the letters and went looking for you." 

The girl grinned wider, and pressed a finger to her lips. She sat back and buckled herself in, though didn't quite click it in completely. 
Molly patted her lover's lap and slipped her fingers through his own. "You'll be fine. These things are fine. They handle millions of people a year."

Jill dropped the cigarette to the ground and embraced Chris with both arms. “Do you ever feel like we died in that mansion, and have been stuck in hell ever since?” She breathed, though still had her face buried against his chest, breathing in the scent she had sorely missed. “I saw the letters… I… I should’ve tried harder to understand.” She confessed. That was Jill, always trying to shoulder the burden.

“And for every few million, there is still god knows many accidents!” Al insisted. “What if it crashes? And I lose a leg… Will you still love me?” He asked, turning to look at Molly with a smirk, despite his obvious fear.

Chris' face turned a solid red and he coughed. "You weren't supposed to see those." He muttered. 

"Absolutely not." Molly said, moments before the coaster was released to descend down the enormous decline that disappeared into the dark.

Jill didn’t even need to look up; she knew that nervous cough enough to know he was bright red. “So… you like to quote Maya Angelou, huh?” She teased, finally tilting her head back to look up at him.

Al actually grabbed for Molly’s hand as he let out the most childlike squeal. If he was honest with himself… he didn’t hate it.