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It was Friday, which meant that Chris Redfield found himself meeting Jill Valentine for an early dinner after a busy day of making sure no one caused another zombie apocalypse that fiscal year. He hurried into the small diner Jill had messaged him about, seeing his now greying partner waiting for him in a booth.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. Parking is a bitch in this area.”, Chris apologized, sliding into the seat across from Jill. She smiled and nudged his copy of the menu over, then went back to perusing her copy.
“I told you it was, which is why I said we should drive over together. Did you get that roster finished for the Penamstan mission next week?”, Jill asked.
After getting her back from Wesker, and a thorough therapy program that lasted the better part of four years, Jill had been reinstated as an active agent and then retired from the field to focus on her role as Director and getting the BSAA back into order. She’d been thoroughly annoyed when Simmons used his clout to hijack her organization, and had been outright furious when Umbrella had reared their ugly head – again. – and infiltrated them while Chris was dealing with the whole Miranda thing.
But, Jill Valentine was forged in brighter, hotter fires than most, and with Chris and Ada at her back, she’d taken back the BSAA and made sure Mia and Rose Winters had a safe place to land after Ethan’s sacrifice. While Chris personally thought Ethan was a clueless bastard – noble, with a good heart, but clueless as all get out – he wasn’t about to stand by and let his sacrifice be in vain, so Chris had pushed for the BSAA to shield Mia and Rose while they healed and figured out where to go next.
Well, ‘pushed’ may have been a little too strong of a word – he’d flown up to the BSAA, brought Mia and Rose to a safe room only he, Jill and Ada knew about, told them to stay put with a small army of soldiers to protect them, then went and found Jill and Ada handling the couple hundred of infected roaming around the place. Between the three of them, they’d secured the building, and in between recon to figure out how shit had gone sideways so spectacularly and gathering resources, Chris had asked Jill if Mia and Rose could stay until they had this in hand. Jill had blinked, said, ‘obviously, yes, Chris, now get your gun’ and that had been that.
“I did, it’s on your desk. Claire messaged me this morning actually, asking if you wouldn’t mind her tagging along. She’s put in a lot of work over the last couple years to try to help over there.”, Chris commented, scanning the menu and noticing that they were in time for the ‘early bird special’. He snorted with laughter, and then glanced up to see Jill raising an eyebrow at him over her own menu.
“Nothing, I just can’t believe we’ve become those people.”
“What people? And of course, Claire is always welcome. I’ll email her tonight and ask her to send over her papers.”
“The people who show up for dinner in the middle of the day, the ‘early bird’ people.”, Chris chuckled, making Jill grin.
“We fight zombies for a living, Chris. We somehow managed to live long enough to become those people, so if I want to eat bacon at 3pm on a Friday, that’s what I’m going to do.”, Jill said in complete seriousness, only showing a smile when Chris let out a bark of laughter.
“Far be it for me to argue, Director Valentine.”, Chris pushed, making Jill roll her eyes and grumble at him. Chris, deciding that he wanted to eat waffles at 3pm in the afternoon, set his menu to the side and took a sip of the coffee Jill had ordered for him while she waited for him. He cleared his throat and said, “Any idea when Ada is due back from Seoul? Your anniversary is coming up.”
“She should be back by Tuesday night, she’s catching a red-eye.”, Jill replied, smiling slightly. Neither of them mentioned that their anniversary was technically the day Raccoon City got wiped off the map, but Chris had always preferred celebrating that day instead of mourning. He and the other survivors had spent the last twenty years carrying the weight of the people who died in Raccoon City, he figured they’d earned a day where they could set that weight aside. “Are you coming over for dinner? It’s Ada’s turn to cook.”
“Sure, as long as I’m not imposing. It’s your anniversary after all.”
“Chris, you’re my best friend and my partner. Our door is always open to you, you know that. ‘Imposing’, please. You practically live on our couch most work nights.”, Jill scoffed.
Chris couldn’t stop the smile on his face. He and Jill had what some could call a co-dependent relationship, due to the whole, ‘being betrayed by their leader and led to the slaughter’ thing they’d gone through together. Losing her at Spencer Estate had gutted him, and when he’d had a six-month bout of trauma induced amnesia a year after getting Jill back, he’d been told that Jill had turned feral from her hospital bed, all but trying to break out to go look for him.
A lot of people – like, a lot. Like, a concerning amount of people. – seemed to think that there was something romantic or sexual about their relationship, and once upon a time, there had been. But, for reasons and traumatic experiences both within and beyond their control, that didn’t pan out. Romance and sex hadn’t lasted, but their bond as partners, as best friends, did and Chris was thankful for that every day. And, he got a super spy friend out of the deal as well when he realized that Jill was sneaking out of the shoebox apartment they were living in to go see Ada after they met up again after Raccoon City.
He’d expected that to be a thing, when Ada found out how tightly fused together he and Jill were, but she didn’t give him time to even think about being defensive. She’d arched an eyebrow at him and said, ‘As long as you keep watching her back when you guys go to save the world, you and I will get along just fine’. Twenty years and a couple near death experiences later, give or take, and that still held true.
The two ordered their food, chatting about gossip from work and who they’d heard from recently – Sheva had emailed him with a picture of her daughter’s middle school graduation, she and Josh smiling in the background, and Carlos had called her the other day, the two spending an hour complaining about the politics of running international groups.
Chris had a plate of waffles in front of him and was half-way through Claire’s latest update from Sherry when his cell phone vibrated on the table in front of the two. Chris sighed, and Jill commented, “No rest for the wicked, huh?”
“I’m not even the Director, who the hell wants to talk to me at 3pm on a Friday?”, Chris grumbled, flipping the phone over to see who was calling. The name, ‘MIA WINTERS’ stared back at him, and Chris picked up the phone. “This is Redfield.”
“Chris, hi, I’m so sorry for calling, I know you’re having dinner with Jill. Say hi to her for me, by the way.”, Mia greeted quickly, and Chris could hear the sounds of a printer and a phone going off in the background.
“Mia, take a breath. What’s going on? Are you and Rose okay?”
“What? Oh, yeah, we’re both fine, don’t worry. Well, okay, I’m up to my neck in work bullshit and apparently I am the ONLY one who’s capable of doing it, which sounds really fake, but whatever.”, Mia grumbled loudly, and Chris heard the sound of a scanner being slammed shut. He winced on the other end of the line, and Jill snickered from across the table.
“Uh, Mia?” Chris wasn’t going to mention that she was the regional director for TerraSave, a job Claire had been actively hunted for and had denied repeatedly because she didn’t want an office job. Mia, with a plethora of experience both in crisis management and corporate politics, had been a dream come true, and Claire had put her name forward to the board of executives. It was a stable, 9-5 job with full benefits that enabled Mia to provide a safe, secure home for Rose as she grew up, and Mia had jumped in feet first.
“Right, right. Sorry. It’s just – it’s been a day. Listen, Rose has practice until 5:30 tonight, and I’m not going to be getting out of here until at least 7. Would you be able to pick her up for me?”
“Yeah, Mia, of course. Just text her and tell her I’ll meet her in the parking lot outside the main doors.”
“Chris, you’re a life saver, thank you so much. There’s leftovers in the fridge, or you guys can order whatever, you know where my credit card is and my login for ordering food. Just please make sure she at least gets a start on her trigonometry homework tonight, otherwise Sunday night is going to be a whole different battle. Seriously, thank you so much.”
“Mia, it’s fine, I said I’d be there to help and I meant it. Just get the job done and I’ll keep an eye on Rose until you get home.”, Chris promised.
“At this rate, I’ll need a blow torch to get through this nonsense by 7.”, Mia grumbled, then sighed. “Okay, I’ll let you go. Thank you again, Chris, and just – can you tell Rose that I love her and that I’m sorry?”
“Can do. See you when you get home.” The two said goodbye and Chris hung up, placing his phone back on the table.
“Mia working late again?”, Jill asked.
Chris nodded. “They’re working on getting relief to the latest earthquake hotspots, so Mia has been clocking overtime like it’s going out of style.”, Chris confirmed. “And with Rose being in school and going to practice three times a week, it’s running them both a little ragged.”
“Being a parent is not for the faint of heart.”, Jill mused. “Especially not when you’re a parent to a kid like Rose.”
“She’s a good kid, she’s just been through a lot and had a lot placed on her from a young age.” Finding out that you’re a bioweapon at the age of 7, after learning that you’d been drawn, quartered and put into containers for a reincarnation ritual, and that your dad was also a bioweapon who blew himself up to save you and your mom, would wreak havoc on anyone’s self-esteem, he figured.
“She is a good kid, but she’s dangerous, Chris. She has a lot of power and a lot of anger, and that has, historically, never ended well.”, Jill pointed out, and Chris had to consciously stop himself from getting defensive.
Jill was right – Rose was dangerous. She had enough rage at herself, at her mom and dead father, at the BSAA, and even at Chris most days, to sink a city, but she also had so much love in her heart that it was hard to see how they could co-exist in the same body without her going crazy. When Rose became a pre-teen, it was an angsty shitshow that Chris had had no idea how to handle, but between he, Mia, and a team of BSAA counsellors, they’d managed to get Rose into a routine that helped her find an outlet for her anger and grief over her dad and the normal life she’d never have.
“I know, but we’re working on it. Christ knows she’s not fond of me most days, but we’re making progress.”
When Rose was 7 and learned that Chris had been there when her dad blew himself up to stop Miranda, she’d been furious in a way that genuinely worried Chris. He didn’t want to shoot her, but he’d been prepared to, and that had bothered him more after the crisis had passed.
Seeing that kind of rage – something he’d only seen once before, in a volcano in Africa – on Rose’s face had shaken him to his core, but what got him worse was the phone call he’d gotten three days later from Rose herself. She was crying, and Chris knew Mia was at work and Rose was supposed to be at school. She asked him to come get her, that she was at the graveyard where they put an empty casket for Ethan, and she was scared of what she would do.
So, Chris dropped everything, sent Mia a text telling her what was happening, and drove to the graveyard two towns over to find Rose, wrapped up in her dad’s then-overly long yellow jacket, sitting in front of Ethan’s grave. Chris hadn’t had a clue what to do, so he figured he would follow Rose’s lead and sat down next to her.
The two sat in quiet for a few minutes before Rose asked, very quietly, if there had been anyway at all that he could have saved her dad. Chris took a moment to think about the question, thinking back like he had a million times before to see if there was some way he could have changed what happened that awful day. He’d had to tell her no, that the virus that’d kept Ethan alive hadn’t been able to pull him back together, and that he made the choice to have his last act be saving her.
“I wish he hadn’t.”, Rose cried quietly, resting her head against her knees. “Mom is sad all the time, even when she looks at me, and I can’t make any friends because I’m not human, and I can’t control what I am. I make Mom so sad, and I hate it, and I hate me, and I just want this to stop. Mom would be happier without me.”
Chris was moving before he consciously thought to do so, his arm resting around Rose’s shoulders as the girl cried. “Rose, you’re the best thing in your mom’s life. She loves you so much. She went through absolute hell not once, but twice, to save you and your dad because you mean the world to her.”
“I’m a monster, Chris. I’m not – I’m not even human.”
“Rose, I’ve spent most of my life fighting monsters, so I can promise you, you are not a monster. You’re a kid who has had a lot of shit thrown their way earlier than most adults ever had. You’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you, but you’re going to be okay. Your mom will make sure of it because she loves you, and she wants the best for you.”
“What about you?”
“I’m here to help as long as you and your mom want me to be here. Your dad was a good guy, I promised him that I’d look out for you and your mom, and I intend to do that.”
“Would you kill me, if I hurt people? If I wasn’t me anymore?”, Rose asked.
“Rose-“
“I know what I am, and I know what you do. You fight monsters so they don’t hurt people, and I’m a monster. If I stop being me, I could hurt a lot of people. Would you kill me if that happened?”
“That’ll never happen, Rose. Your mom and I will make sure of it.”
“But if it does? Chris, I need you to promise me. Promise me you won’t let me hurt anyone. Promise me you’ll make sure I don’t hurt my mom.”, Rose begged, and the idea of it made him feel like he’d been kicked in the stomach with a steel toed boot, but Chris nodded.
“I promise. I can tell you right now that it won’t come to that, but whatever happens, I’ll do the best I can for you and your mom. Now, you want to say goodbye to your dad and we’ll get out of here? Your mom is worried sick.” Rose had nodded, saying a whispered 'bye, dad, I love you' to Ethan’s tombstone before the two walked to where Chris’ car was parked.
Chris, Mia and Rose had had a discussion that night over take-out Chinese food, Mia just barely holding back tears as Rose told her what she’d asked Chris to promise that afternoon. The evening had ended with Rose fast asleep on the couch, and Mia and Chris reaching out to the psychiatrist on staff at the BSAA to see about a referral to a child specialist for Rose. It’d been the first step of a long journey, but after a decade of therapy and training her abilities – or, ‘practice’, as Mia preferred it to be called – Rose had found her footing. She was still an angry, mouthy kid, but she was also 17 and that was to be expected, or so Claire had led him to believe.
“I know she is.”, Jill assured him. “She’s doing really well in her training, and her grades are looking great. You and Mia should be very proud.”
“Mia did all the hard work, I just pitched in when she needed an extra hand.”
“Uh huh. What time do you need to go pick up Rose from the center?”
“Practice is over at 5:30, so I have probably another hour. The traffic is going to be a nightmare.”, Chris sighed, not catching the disbelieving eyeroll Jill gave.
“Well, then you’d better eat quick. Teenage girls are not known for their patience once hanger sets in.”, Jill advised sagely, and Chris knew that to be the truth. He ate his waffles, e-transferred Jill his half of the bill plus taxes and tip, then finished his coffee and headed out the door with a firm order from Jill to invite Mia and Rose to her and Ada’s anniversary dinner the following weekend. Rose thought Ada was the coolest person alive, something her mom, Chris and Jill agreed with, so Chris didn’t think that would be too hard of a sell, but he promised he would issue the invitation.
The traffic was, as predicted, a nightmare, and Chris pulled up to the BSAA training center at 5:28 on the dot. When he approached the training center doors, he didn’t see Rose, but he did see Agent Munroe, the BSAA agent who’d been assigned her security detail that day for school. From the wrinkles in his collar to the wary look on his face, Chris had to stop the sigh he wanted to give. No rest for the wicked, indeed.
“Agent Munroe. To what do I owe the honor?”, Chris asked, nodding to the man in greeting.
“Captain Redfield, sir. I take it you’re here to pick up Rose?”, the agent asked.
“I am. Mia is working late, emergency project. Where is Rose and why aren’t you with her?”, Chris asked. Personally, he hadn’t felt it necessary to assign Rose a detail during her school hours – she was more than capable of protecting herself against high schoolers – but Mia was insistent, and Jill had agreed that they were good, but they couldn’t control everything.
After the first four failed kidnapping attempts, Chris had seen the wisdom of the idea and had called Leon to get his take on any operatives who were looking for a new transfer onto Rose’s detail.
“There was a slight… incident, Captain. Rose is in the gym with her trainer, if you’ll follow me?” Munroe looked like he was signing his own death warrant, and Chris didn’t blame him for being apprehensive. There was a reason people preferred dealing with Mia when it came to Rose’s safety; she would at least try to be reasonable and defer judgement until she knew the whole story. Chris had two settings – 0 and 100, and he tended to flip between them at the drop of a hat.
“Lead the way.”, Chris agreed, the two entering the building. When they got to the gym reserved for Rose’s training, Chris could already see the mold crawling out from the doors, stretching across the opening and barring anyone entrance. Chris could hear gunshots from within the room and pulled his sidearm, then shoved Munroe out of the way to rush to the door. He was repelled by an unyielding wall of gel-like mold, and Chris glared at Munroe over his shoulder, holstering his gun. “What in the fresh hell happened here, Munroe?!”
“I have no idea, Captain. I left the room for five minutes, ten at most, to phone in an update to HQ and when I came back, the doors were sealed and neither Rose nor her trainer were responding to radio calls. I’ve sent for the EO team and they’re enroute.”, Munroe explained and Chris snarled.
“Cancel that order. The mold is a part of Rose, if you burn it, you hurt her. Also, explosives?! We’re in a community center, do you want to cause a panic?! Fucking – Rose! Rose, it’s Chris, can you hear me?! Let me in!”, Chris yelled, not touching the mold but looking all over for an opening.
Over the years, this had happened occasionally, Rose losing control of her powers. It typically happened when she was overwhelmed by emotion, particularly negative ones, but she’d gotten better at controlling it and dealing with her emotions in a way that didn’t cause a biohazard. Whatever had happened, Chris was willing to bet that there was a reason it happened when Munroe was out of the room. The mold was a part of Rose, and its main function was to protect her from harm.
There was no answer, and Chris called again for Rose. It took a few moments, but the gunfire stopped, and Chris watched as the mold became clearer. “Chris? Is that you?”, Rose’s voice asked through the transparent mold.
“Yeah, it’s me. Rose, what happened? Are you alright?”, Chris asked.
“Is Agent Munroe with you?”, Rose asked, and the mold became solid and black before Chris’ very eyes, acting as a shield except for the transparent part Rose spoke through.
“He is, he told me something had happened here. Why?”
“Ask him what he called me at the graveyard this afternoon.”
“Why were you at the graveyard this afternoon, Rose? You were supposed to be in school before practice.”
“I had a free period at the end of the day, and today is Dad’s birthday. I wanted to go see him.”
Ah. Yeah, that would do it, Chris figured. That also explained why Mia was working herself so hard. Neither Rose nor her mother had gotten to a place where they could celebrate Ethan’s life together yet, they could only mourn the husband that Mia had known, and the father Rose hadn’t had the chance to know.
“Captain, Rose gave three agents the slip, took two different buses and a taxi, and skipped the class before her free period.”, Munroe piped up.
“Well, it’s a long trip. I wanted to make it before practice.”
“We could have driven you-“
“Give me one good reason why I want to let you anywhere near my Dad’s grave.”, Rose snarled. “Anyway, yeah, I skipped. Big deal. Now tell Chris what you called me.”
“Rose, I said it was just a joke-“
“Well, if it’s so funny, tell it to me.”, Chris broke in, knowing that they were coming close to running in circles. Munroe swallowed and Rose remained carefully silent.
“It’s nothing, Captain. Rose and I just had a disagreement, it won’t happen again.”
“Disagreement, my ass.”, Rose snorted. Chris arched an eyebrow and waited patiently for Munroe to sweat a little. The other man sighed quietly, then said,
“I called Rose ‘Evelin’, Captain. Nothing was meant by it, it was honestly just a joke.”
Chris could almost hear Mia’s blood pressure rising and he hadn’t even told her about this yet. He had to very carefully sigh, and reign in his own anger at the callousness.
“Well, Agent, I hope that joke was worth the desk you’re going to be riding for the next month. You’re off active duty pending review by HR. You’re dismissed. I’ll take it from here.”
Munroe looked like he wanted to argue, and Chris kind of hoped that he would, it’d been a while since he’d gotten into a fight where someone’s life wasn’t in the balance. But, the other agent nodded stiffly, turned around and walked out of view, and Chris let out a tired sigh.
“Thanks, Chris.”, Rose said quietly.
“It’s alright, but we are going to be having a talk with your mom about that whole ‘skipping class’ thing. You’re so close to graduating, Rose. I know you wanted to go see your Dad, but you should have talked to your mom and I, we could have worked something out to get you there.”, Chris said patiently.
He remembered when Claire was about Rose’s age, after their parents died. She’d wanted to go visit their graves every year and more than once, Chris had gotten a call at work that Claire had skipped school to make the trip when he couldn’t. If that was how she had to grieve, well, there were worse ways Chris could imagine her going about it, but that didn’t mean she got to get away without consequence.
“I know. Mom has been so busy at work, and you’ve been working with Claire for the Penamstan trip. I didn’t want to get in the way.”, Rose explained as the mold began to recede from the doorway. Chris stepped into the gym and saw her standing in the middle of the room, the mold absorbing back into her like water.
“You never get in the way, kid. You’re allowed to miss your Dad, but you can’t go putting yourself in danger because you want to do it all by yourself. You can always ask your mom and I for help.”, Chris promised her, quickly checking the room to make sure the mold hadn’t left any damage. “You feeling alright?”
“Better now.”
“Good. Munroe said your trainer was in here with you?”, Chris asked.
“Yeah, this whole thing was Jake’s idea. Honest.”, Rose said, seeing the skeptical look Chris sent her. “I mean it. He saw how bent out of shape I was and asked me what happened, so I told him what Munroe said. He gets it, y’know? So, when Munroe left, he suggested I tried letting it all out, instead of pushing it back down. I was worried I’d hurt him, but he said he could handle it, so I did. We used the Molded for target practice, and we tested to see how many I could make while the barrier was still up. It was exhausting, but… kind of freeing, actually. I felt in control.”
“That’s good, but I’m going to have a talk with this Jake. If you want to test your abilities, Rose, that’s fine, but we have to do it in a safe way. This could have very easily spiraled out of control. Where is he, anyway?”, Chris asked.
“Over here, Jarhead.”, a voice Chris hadn’t heard in over twenty years said, a basketball coming at his face from the left. Chris caught the ball and turned, seeing a redhead with eyes Chris couldn’t forget if you paid him. The man, wearing a BSAA instructor uniform, laughed, and then walked over and high-fived Rose before turning to Chris. “Nice reflexes, old timer. Wasn’t sure you still had it in you.”
“Jake Muller. Been a while.”, Chris greeted, setting the ball down and shaking hands with Jake. He noted the gold band on Jake’s left hand and said, “How’s Sherry?
Jake grinned at the mention of his wife, who was one of the high-ranking officers in the DHS. She’d enjoyed her time in the field, but when she and Jake adopted their first child about five years back, the two had agreed to stay closer to home. Leon, who at the age of 60 had finally retired, was apparently overjoyed at being a grandfather to Sherry and Jake’s son. “She’s good, we’re taking Aiden on a vacation next month, so I figured I’d get my hours in with this troublemaker beforehand.”
“How did I not know you were working here? Or that you were Rose’s new trainer?”, Chris asked. Rose lifted her hand into the air.
“That may have been because of me. After my last one quit last year, Mom wanted to make sure I had someone who wouldn’t run screaming the first time I used my abilities, so she spoke to Ada about it.”, Rose explained. “Ada checked with me, then said she knew a guy who would fit the bill. Two weeks later, her and Jill introduced me and Mom to Jake and Sherry. Mom agreed to it on a trial basis, but-“
“Then she found out who my dad was, something that Ada apparently didn’t see necessary to share.”, Jake added. “She didn’t want dear old dad’s legacy to bring any trouble for her daughter, which I totally got. I’d burn the world to the ground before I let anything my dad had his hands in touch my son, so no harm, no foul.”
“But I asked mom not to tell you, I didn’t want to cause you any pain, Chris. I know things didn’t end well between you and Jake’s dad.”, Rose said, trying her best to be diplomatic and falling about a mile short as both Chris and Jake snorted at the understatement. Rose rolled her eyes but said nothing else, her hands on her hips as she waited. Being a part of the Mold, made from Evelin, Rose had access to the memories of all living and dead creatures, so she knew about the volcano fight, and Chris presumed, about how much Jake had hated Chris for being the one to kill his father.
“Well, hell. If anybody can teach you how to handle inherited abilities, it’d be Jake. Though, next time something like this happens, instead of causing a mold incident, maybe just call me or Mia? Just because there’s an outbreak every other month doesn’t mean we want to give the press any more to go on than we need to.”, Chris requested, receiving a nod from both Jake and Rose.
“Can do. I figured, she’s got the restraint down, girl’s control is as solid as a rock. But, eventually, something’s gotta give, so I thought letting off some steam in a controlled area was the safest bet. She can’t control it if she hasn’t practiced it, y’know?”, Jake explained. He glanced at the door, then added, “Also, that guy was such a dick. Who says shit like that to the person you’re supposed to be protecting?”
“Someone who is going to have a long talk with Mia and I, if I have anything to say about it.”, Chris said grimly, then turned to Rose. “Well, kid, you ready to hit the road?”
“Yeah, I just want to shower first, then we can get outta here. Thanks again, Jake, I’ll see you on Monday!”, Rose said, waving to her trainer and sprinting towards the women’s change room. The door closed behind her, and Jake and Chris were left standing in the middle of the gym.
Jake let out a low chuckle, and Chris turned to look at him. “You’re always picking up strays, aren’t you, Redfield?”
“It’s my curse.”, Chris said with a shrug. “She’s a good kid. I help her and her mom out when I can.”
“She thinks the world of you, you know? She talks about you like every other goddamn soldier I’ve spoken to who knows you.”, Jake said jokingly. “But really, fuck knows how she could have turned out if someone else had been behind the wheel. It’s not easy, knowing you’re different. Knowing there’s a part of you that could get the people you love killed. I’m glad she has you and her mom.”
“Thank you. And, for what it’s worth, you turned out alright yourself, Jake.”, Chris acknowledged. He was old and wise enough to admit that he had taken one look at Jake that day in Russia and somewhere deep inside of him, he’d known that he was looking at Wesker’s son. He was also mature enough to admit that that same part of him had hated Jake for what he represented, for who he represented, and for what Chris was so afraid of happening again.
He wasn’t sure, and he would never ask, but he’d put money down on that being at least part of the reason Jake and Sherry didn’t try to conceive their own children. Jake had enough demons under his bed to fill a factory, and Sherry had enough of her own that between the two of them, they could have filled an amusement park. Maybe someday they would give their son a younger sibling, but either way, he knew they both had so much love to give, both to each other and their son, that they’d be alright.
Jake smiled, and he didn’t look like Wesker to Chris’ eyes. He imagined he got the smile from his mother. “Yeah, I think so too. It means a lot coming from you though.”, Jake admitted, then glanced around the gym. “Listen, you can hang around and wait for Rose, but I’ve gotta clean up in here and get home. Sherry’s having the old man over for dinner tonight and apparently, that means I’m cooking.”
Chris laughed. “I’m so glad you and Leon have this relationship. You need a hand cleaning up?”
“I’m not, that asshole takes my kid out, loads him up on sugar, then drops him off back home and kidnaps my wife so I have to deal with it while they go out and drink their overpriced coffee and judge people. It’s fucking rude.”, Jake groused, which probably would have been more effective if he hadn’t had a million-watt smile on his face as he spoke. There were some people who family life just suited, and it appeared Jake Muller was one such person. “And nah, I got this. Take a seat, old timer, rest those weary bones, but do it over there.”
“Remind me again who won our fight in China?”, Chris asked, grinning at the sheer audacity. He was 65, not dead, for crying out loud.
“The same extra motherfucker who punched a boulder while fighting my dad in a volcano. What’s your point?”
“I don’t think I want you training Rose any longer. She’s got enough of an attitude, I don’t need you making it worse.”, Chris joked. A second later, his ringtone pierced the air of the gym, and both men went still.
Chris pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw JILL VALENTINE on the display. He swiped to answer the call, and said, “Redfield. Jill, what’s going on?”
“Chris, are you with Rose? Where are you right now?”, Jill asked, and Chris knew the tone of her voice meant nothing good.
“We’re at the training center. Why?”, Chris asked, seeing Rose walk out of the change room wearing her regular clothes with her backpack on. She tilted her head, seeing the look of strain between Chris and Jake, and walked over quickly to where they stood.
“There’s a situation, Chris. Pick Mia up on your way, we need you and Rose back at HQ.”