Means to an End

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Parker smiled at Chris slightly, patting him on the shoulder. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry too. I was so obsessed with finding Alex... I didn't stop to see the signs. I should have found out Jill was pregnant... Had I known that..." He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. "I do blame myself for what happened to her."

Chris never responded to this. As soon as they were inside the building he muttered something about needing to get Parker certified and left the other man to navigate the holding cells alone.
Jessica, it seemed, had been waiting all day and half the night for him. She visibly brightened when he was let into her cell. "Parker!" She gushed, leaping to her feet to throw her arms around him. "I knew you wouldn't let me down!"

"There's no life without you, Jill. You are my sun, moon, and stars. The rest is pointless. It's always been that way, even before I met you." Chris told her passionately. "Now are we going to eat or are you trying to starve me to death?"

Rebecca nodded. "They've never said it right out but every time I try to leave I've been told everything I need is here. I've asked to go for a walk and they send me to the exercise room.... Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this."

Jill smiled slightly, squeezing one of Chris' upper arms playfully. "But you're so big..." She teased. "Maybe I should eat all the food?"

"No, please... It's best that you do." Parker assured her gently. "I had no idea you were stuck in here... I want to help. I want to get you out of here."

"That's fine." Chris wailed, falling backward and lying on his back. "I'll just starve to death! I hope you're happy!" He held onto his stomach and began to whine loudly. "Oh the pain!"

Rebecca shook her head. "I can't let you risk yourself for me. You've worked so hard, Parker. Besides, you'd rather be with someone like Excella. You don't have to be nice to me."

Jill was soon laughing, a sound that had been absent from her these past months. "Oh Stoppit!" She scoffed playfully. "We both know you're going to steal off my plate anyway!"

"No matter what the rumours may say, necrophilia doesn't do it for me." Parker teased, hoping to earn a smile from Rebecca.

"I don't steal." Chris said, now pretending to be shocked. Truth was, he wasn't totally pretending. He was in shock over hearing Jill's laugh. He'd never thought he'd hear it again. "I take what is rightfully mine."

"You said that about Jessica too." Rebecca told him, her smile fading into a frown as she fought to remember who Jessica was and why she felt so threatened by her.

"Right... And does that include me, too?" Jill teased as she rose to her feet to carry the food into the kitchen.

"Who?" Parker asked, surprised Rebecca had said that name more than anything else.

"No." Chris said softly, following Jill into the kitchen. "You're only mine if you want to be. I'm not pushing you into anything you don't want to do."
He added, getting out plates and cups without saying anything else.

"I don't know...I guess I was thinking of someone else." Rebecca said, rubbing her forehead. "So...about the dinner thing...are you going to call it off now that you know I can't go anywhere?"

"Chris, I was yours from the moment I walked into the RPD, we just didn't realise it." Jill assured Chris gently, doing her best to try and swallow the darkness within her.

"Hardly!" Parker replied with a grin. "I won't tell you anything yet, but will you agree to meet me right here at eight?"

"Jill...maybe it's time we start talking about what happened to you." Chris suggested, resting his hands on her upper arms when he realized that she was standing frozen at the counter.

Rebecca nodded, offering him a smile. "You're not even going to tell me what I need to wear?"

Jill tried to shake her head, but could barely move. She couldn't close her eyes right then. Every time she did... She saw his face. He was mocking her, telling all she had done was sacrifice her life, and that of her child to slightly prolong Chris'. "I can't..." She all but sobbed.

Parker grinned and shook his head. "Whatever makes you happy. Hell, wear nothing at all if it pleases you." He added with a playful wink.

"Okay. Okay." Chris breathed, again wishing he could make all the darkness go away. "Just...kiss me instead." He whispered.

"You know...I get the feeling I wouldn't be nearly as pleased with it as you." Rebecca laughed, gathering her bagels and coffee. "Thanks again for breakfast, Parker."

That was what Jill had missed the most; one kiss from Chris and it seemed like she could take on the world. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she kissed her lover, her arms holding onto him as though his breath was the only thing keeping her alive.

Parker grinned and offered Rebecca a playful salute. "Just softening you up until I ask for a pay rise." He teased, then picked up his own coffee too.

Chris gave in to his desires and took hold of her hips, lifting her onto the counter and wrapping her legs around his waist. He deepened the kiss, needing to connect with her in a way they hadn't in so very long.

"As if I'm the one who could make that decision." Rebecca laughed, waving to him as she dug into her bagels.

Jill didn't protest this closeness, instead her legs linked tightly around Chris as her slender fingers pulled his shirt upwards. It wasn't just Chris who needed this, Jill thought maybe this would help chase away the loathing she felt for herself.

Parker had a definite spring in his step as he arrived for his shift that day. In fact, he was even humming to himself as he checked the night logs for any unusual activity.

For the first time in what felt like years, Chris truly slept. With the sheets wrapped around his legs and Jill in his arms, he felt that his world was once again complete. Wesker and bio-warfare didn't matter anymore. All he'd ever longed for had been returned to him. He was a lucky man.

Rebecca was waiting for Parker at eight o'clock. She'd chosen a beautiful purple dress that she had no idea he'd seen her wear before. This summer dress rested off her shoulders and revealed a decent portion of her chest. It would also reveal a strange heart shaped device with a glowing red center. The only thing she had ever been told about this was that it kept her heart from failing because she was rather sickly. She had no idea of it's true purpose. At least, not that she remembered...

That was the first night in three months that Jill didn't wake screaming in terror. Her bare skin was still pressed against Chris', and she could feel his powerful arm around her, that was all it had taken for her to feel safe again.

Parker was whistling to himself as he came to meet Rebecca, though he stopped in his tracks when he laid eyes upon her. First he was bowled over by how beautiful she look in her dress, but then his eyes saw the device. He had received a message from Chris not long after he had found Jill, detailing a similar device that had been used to make her into the perfect soldier. "Wow... You look so beautiful." He breathed at last, when he realised he was staring.

Chris was loathe to wake up that morning. He knew the day would bring back the darkness in Jill's eyes. Especially since he'd be spending all day in meetings explaining what had been uncovered about Tricell and more importantly Albert Wesker.

Rebecca blushed deeply, ducking her head. "Is it all right?" She asked softly. "I saw it on the rack and for some reason all I could think of was you." She admitted, her cheeks flaming. Her fingers went to the device as if it she were either self-conscious about it or it was causing her pain.

Jill had been awake for some time, but hadn't moved. It was like she knew that Chris would be gone all day, and she would once again be along with nothing but her thoughts.

"Is it hurting you?" Parker asked, quick to notice the way she touched the device on her chest.

"You could come with me." Chris suggested when he felt her shifting around. He pulled her close to him and kissed the nape of her neck. He didn't want to let go yet. She might not let him hold her like this again.

Rebecca nodded, feeling rather embarrassed. "They tell me I was in a car accident a while back." She explained. "This is the only thing keeping my heart working properly."

Jill shook her head, though didn't squirm out of Chris' arms just yet. "They'll ask me questions again. I can't deal with that Chris... It's still too soon." She breathed.

"And you just took their word?" Parker asked with a frown. "Did you ever check your condition out yourself?"

"Then what do you want to do?" Chris asked her. "Maybe you could give Parker a call and check on him. It's been a while since I heard from him and I don't even know if he's found Rebecca."

Rebecca frowned at this. "I see no reason that my sister would have lied to me. I have the scar that I got from a shard of glass on the windshield." She told him, her fingers moving to the thin scar Wesker had left her with. "I've been so busy taking care of things for her that I don't have time for myself. Why would she have lied?"

Jill hesitated slightly, then nodded. "I hear you still have Jessica locked up too?" She didn't know where the thought of the other woman had come from. "Has she been useful to you?"

"Rebecca... What do you remember of your life before you worked here?" Parker asked curiously.

"If you mean useful by offering to remove my clothes every time I'm near her...then...no." Chris chuckled, reluctantly getting out of the bed. "She's still swearing that Wesker will come and save her. She won't listen to me when I say even if he wasn't dead, he's already dumped her."

"Nothing." Rebecca admitted, sliding her fingers through the crook of his arm. "I lost my memory in the crash...Are we going to interrogate me or go on that date?"

"What was it that has women flocking around him?" Jill asked, pulling Chris' t shirt on, though not getting out of bed. "I heard Parker shot her, is that true?"

Parker smiled and patted Rebecca's hand. "I can do both." He teased as he lead her to the elevator. Once inside they took it up to the top floor, then walked the rest of the way to the rooftop by foot. Out on the roof Parker had laid out an elaborate picnic on a soft blanket for them, complete with chilling wine. "Well, you can't leave... But I figured you can at least come up here, right?"

"Wesker was a jerk. Women like a jerk. Most of them would rather be pushed around than stand up for themselves. That kind is easy and so is he." Chris grumbled, searching his closet for a comfortable shirt. "How come you have to do laundry?" He whined. "Now I can't even find my underwear! When it was dirty I knew where it was! And yes. She's still walking funny from it. He'll love to hear it that way too..."

"Oh Parker..." Rebecca breathed, unable to believe just how much attention to detail had been paid to even the candles. "Are you sure this is for me?" She asked uncertainly, not sure she deserved this or him.

"You're underwear in the drawer where it always was." Jill replied as she got to her feet. "However, just so you know... If Jessica is walking funny for other reasons, I don't blame you." She told Chris quietly. "Three years is a long time."

Parker smiled sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Is it too much?" He asked uncertainly.

"What?" Chris turned to look at Jill, abandoning his search for underwear. "You really think I would...are you serious? Jill, I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it just like I've been keeping it since the moment we confessed how we both felt. No matter what there will be no one but you walking funny!"

"It's perfect!" Rebecca gushed, grabbing for his hand and all but yanking him across the rooftop with her. She didn't let go of him once they'd arrived. Instead she tightened her grip. Another memory was creeping into her mind and she could see herself and Parker walking through an outdoor shop, holding hands and laughing.

Jill smiled slightly, knowing no one but her would find the sweetness in being told her lover could make her walk funny. "Well... I'm walking fine right now, so I guess you need to try harder." She teased gently.

"Rebecca?" Parker saw the distant look in her eyes and his face flooded with worry. "Rebecca, love, are you okay?" his rough fingers were touching her cheek lightly, silently hoping it was indeed a memory she was experiencing.

"That is so not funny." Chris muttered, returning to his search for underwear. Even if she'd told him where they were, that was not the point.

"Yeah. I'm just remembering something that..." Rebecca closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Not remembering. Imagining. I'm silly like that, you know."

A clean set of underwear landed on Chris' head, though it was a pair of Jill's lace panties. "Those are clean." She told him sweetly.

"It's not silly to imagine."arker told her gently. "Without dreams, we would achieve nothing."