Leaving

xxx

If I don't say this now I will surely break
As I'm leaving the one I want to take
Forget the urgency but hurry up and wait
My heart has started to separate~ Look After You, The Fray

xxx

August 15, 1998

Jill Valentine's Apartment

Raccoon City, USA

Jill's cell phone rang, the simple ringtone blasting throughout her small room. Jill, annoyed and still tired, got out of bed and found her phone. The caller ID displayed a collection of numbers that Jill knew by heart, and her heart swelled thinking about what the caller wanted.

"Hello?" She pretended she didn't know who was calling.

"Hey, Jill. It's me."

"What do you want, Chris?" Jill feigned annoyance, but in her head was happy to hear his voice. The last few weeks since she came home from the mansion, she couldn't sleep a single night without being plagued by nightmares. She had dreams where she was the only one who survived, and it absolutely killed her, especially when Chris died.

"I see you're not much of a morning person." He laughed on the other line. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could come over."

Jill glanced at the clock which read 12:16. "Now? It's really late! Can't it wait until morning?"

"Listen, it's really important. I just couldn't wait to tell you."

She sighed in defeat, "I'll be over in 20 minutes, okay?"

"Alright, see you then."

The line went dead, and Jill turned off her phone and got dressed and ready within 10 minutes, and started to drive off to Chris's place.

She got there and rang his doorbell. He opened the door and greeted her with a warm smile. "Hey Jill, come in."

He moved out of the doorframe and she entered his apartment. Jill placed her keys on his coffee table, looking around his living room, which was slightly messy.

"Okay, you said you wanted to tell me something?" Jill turned to him with a mischievous grin. "Or was that just an excuse to seduce me?"

He chuckled and his cheeks turned a slight rosy color. "Well, I was considering that, until I saw how grouchy you are this late at night," Chris replied teasingly.

"Oh please, you haven't seen me at my worst yet." She joked back.

He smiled at her, but then remembered why he'd called her there in the first place. "You look like you're in a good mood; I feel bad because what I want to show you will really piss you off."

Jill's smile dimmed, wondering what he was going to show her. Chris moved over to a small stack of papers, and pulled out a thin manilla folder, taking out a few papers that were stapled together.

He sighed and turned to her, holding it out for her to take. "Read this."

When she reached out for it, her hand grazed his, and they both blushed and smiled when they realized it. Jill turned her attention to the papers, and her bright smile was replaced with a gloomy frown.

"G-Virus?" She asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, Umbrella's been busy. Apparently this is a new virus." He shook his head. "The nightmare still continues."

"What the hell? Hasn't the T-Virus done enough on its own?"

"I guess it hasn't, and this means it's not over yet." Chris replied with a slight yawn, running his fingers through his hair.

She looked at him, and took in the dark circles under his eyes, his messy hair and stubble. "Chris, you look kinda tired."

"I'm fine. I've just been working really hard to find this information."

She wasn't buying it. "Have you gotten any sleep recently?"

Chris humorlessly chuckled. "No."

"I guess that explains why you've been acting weird all week," Jill replied with concern, referring to the incident where he punched Elran of the Boy's Crime Department for accidentally spilling coffee on him. Jill stopped him from doing anything worse, and then he, strangely, winked at her and just walked away. Chris ended up with 2 weeks suspension from work. "You really need some rest."

"I'm fine, really." He lied.

"No, you're not. Listen to me," Jill walked in front of him and poked a finger in his chest. "Tomorrow, I'll tell Rebecca, Brad, and Barry about this. But you- you're gonna get some rest. Got it?"

"Got it!" He chuckled, amused by her sudden 'take-charge' attitude.

"And don't ever wake me up in the middle of the night again unless you wanted your ass kicked!" Jill added with a grin.

"I'll keep that in mind." He laughed.

"Alright," she said, lowering her voice to a soft, gentle tone. "You know, you didn't have to do all that alone. You could've told us. We would have helped, you know."

"Hey, Jill, " He looked her in the eyes and admired their oceanic blue color. "These files said something about Umbrella's European headquarters. I was planning on investigating over there, I thought you guys might want to come."

"Well, Barry will probably go. But I don't know about the others."

"What about you?"

Jill sighed loudly and folded her arms over her chest. "Isn't there a lab underneath Raccoon City? I don't know if we should just forget about it. I might stay here and check it out, just for a little bit. I don't know yet."

"Well, I'm leaving on the 24th. You can think about it until then, but I'd really like you to come with me."

Jill felt her heart break in her chest. The thought of staying behind saddened her, but she knew it was what she had to do. Barry had a family and he probably wanted to get them to a safer place, Rebecca was too young, and Brad would get easily afraid, there's no way he'd do it alone.

"I'll think about it."

"Good," He said with a slight smile. "You probably want to go home now."

"I guess," she smiled back.

He led her back to the door and opened it for her. She stepped outside as he leaned on the door frame. "You get some rest, alright?"

"I will," Chris reassured her. "Good night."

"Good night," Jill replied. She opened her mouth to say something else, but forgot what she wanted to say. Quickly, she added, "Oh, and thanks. For everything."

Jill laid a gentle kiss on his cheek, then walked away. Chris smiled, watching her as she walked away and out of sight, then went back inside and collapsed on his bed.

xxx

August 24, 1998

Raccoon City Airport

Raccoon City, USA

She stood in the airport, scanning over a parade of nameless faces, looking for her friends who would be leaving soon. Jill didn't want to be there. She didn't want to say goodbye to her friends. She didn't want to see them go.

But they're leaving, you can't change that now. she reminded herself.

When she told everyone about Chris's plan, they were more than willing to help out, save for Brad, who didn't want to leave Raccoon no matter how corrupted it was. Barry agreed immediately. However, he decided it would be best to move his family away from Raccoon City to secure their safety. Rebecca was hesitant but she quickly decided as well. Everything was falling into place for them.

Except for one thing: Jill decided she was going to stay.

Three faces jumped out at her- a tall, burly man with red hair and a beard by the name of Barry Burton, a young practically-a-genius medic named Rebecca, and a muscular, handsome brave man.

Chris.

For some reason unknown to Jill, the thought of him leaving nearly broke her heart. She wished she could convince him to stay and be with her, but she knew it was a terrible idea.

Pushing aside those thoughts, she made her way over to the trio.

Barry noticed her first and called out to her, "Jill!"

Chris whipped around, and when he saw Jill, smiled brightly. He had the urge to run over to her, pick her up, and carry for away bridal style, but shook it off. Still, it was very tempting for him.

"Hey, Jill!" Rebecca's voice suddenly broke him from his fantasies. "Wait, where's your stuff?"

Jill opened her mouth to speak, but when her eyes drifted over to Chris's shocked face, choked on her words. "I..."

"You're not coming with us?" Chris said sadly.

"Why?" Rebecca questioned.

"I just thought that, maybe, I could investigate that facility under the city and tie up loose ends."

"Alone?"

Jill's crystalline blue eyes met Chris's brown eyes. "Yes, but only for a little while. I was planning on meeting up with you in a few weeks."

Chris quickly responded, remembering her words from earlier, "Jill, you don't have to do that alone."

"It's only going to be for a few weeks. I can handle myself until then." She replied reassuringly, placing her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She felt a tingling sensation run up her fingers and arm, and give him a gentle smile.

"Flight 280 now boarding." A staticky voice called out interrupting their moment.

"We'd better get going." Barry stated, breaking the silence. He turned to Jill and gave her a bear hug. "Take care, Jill."

"Be safe," Rebecca said, hugging her as well.

Barry and Rebecca grabbed their bags and headed towards the plane. The flight attendant checked their tickets and let them through. Rebecca scurried off, eager to find a seat. Barry looked behind to look for Chris, who was still talking with Jill, before leaving as well.

"You better go. You've got a plane to catch." She said with a weak, forced smile.

"Come with me." Chris pleaded.

"Chris, you know I can't."

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "I don't care. Please, come with me."

She shook her head and bit her lip."I don't know what to tell you. I want to go- I really do, but we can't just leave Raccoon without-"

He stopped her mid-sentence. "Jill, I can't just leave you here. You know that."

"It's not that easy for me either, Chris."

"Please, Jill. I love you too much to just leave and hope you'll be fine on your own. Even if it's just for a few weeks."

A smile formed on Jill's face when she realized what he just said. He looked at her, about to ask why she was smiling, when she cheerfully spoke. "You love me?"

Chris refused to meet her eyes, and looked down at his luggage instead. "Yeah... I do"

Jill's grin widened, and she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, like he'd done before. "Chris, I love you, too." He looked over at her, before she spoke again. "And it's really hard for me to stay, but I have to."

Ignoring what she said, Chris moved his hands to her face, and they both leaned in. Their lips connected, their hearts pounded in their chests. Jill's arms wrapped around his neck, his around her waist. Briefly, they pulled away for air, before their lips joined once more.

"Final call for Flight 280." The voice announced once more, causing them to separate.

Jill looked at Chris with a tear in her eye. "You'd better go now."

"I can't change your mind, can I?" He half asked, half stated.

Sniffling, she shook her head. "I'm so sorry."

He pulled into a hug and kissed the crown of her head. "Don't be. We'll be together soon, I'm sure of it. Just wait for me, Jill Valentine."

"I will," She assured him. "Now don't miss your flight- and don't get yourself killed when you are out there."

He chuckled. "I won't."

"Promise?"

"I promise. And you know how I always keep my promises." He grabbed each of his bags, and looked at her once more.

"This won't be goodbye." She kissed him lightly on the lips. "So, I'll see you later."

"See you later." Chris replied with a bittersweet smile. She would miss seeing it everyday.

He took his bags and headed off. She watched him as he showed a woman his ticket and she waved him in. Before heading off, he turned and gave Jill a weak smile.

His words reverberated in her head. Wait for me, Jill Valentine.

She smiled. I could wait forever for you, Chris Redfield.