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Words That Were Never Spoken

A Valenfield Fanfiction

(Trigger Warning for Violence, Blood, and Graphic Descriptions of Undead)

Previous chapters in tags

Chapter 7

It was night when Jill pulled into Rebecca’s lab's parking lot, choosing a spot closest to the door. She backed the pickup truck up, cut the engine, and removed the key from the ignition. Claire sat in the passenger seat, looking at the recent calls on Chris’s phone. Jill was glad she had asked them if she could take the phone with her. If the video didn’t give them a location, hopefully, the phone call would. She exited the truck and shut the door, hearing Claire follow her. Locking it, Jill walked around to the passenger side, where Claire was waiting. “So you said he got a call from what he thought was headquarters?”

“Yes,” Jill said as she led Claire to the front door of the building. “He took the call and then said we had that mission.”

Claire hummed next to her before she looked up from the phone. “Well, this was the only phone call he received today. Hopefully, we can trace where it came from.”

“I hope so,” Jill said as she walked through the door, cool air greeting them. Before they left the hospital, Jill texted Rebecca to ask if she could stay later. She didn’t go into details over text for fear of interception. If Chris were a target, he would be very vulnerable right now. If the person heard he was alive and found where he was, all they would have to do was disguise themselves as staff. Those people or the sole person would kill Chris. It was best to talk to Rebecca in person. She could only trust her and Claire right now. She would protect Chris at all costs, and the three women made an excellent team. Jill broke from her thoughts as they reached the elevator bank. She pressed the up button and stepped back, waiting for the elevator to arrive. Jill stayed silent, her mind wandering back to her partner. She found herself missing him more and more as the minutes ticked by. It was strange knowing he would not join them for the fight. He wouldn’t be there to remind them to be careful and rein them in. He wouldn’t be by her side.

“Are you okay, Jill?” Claire asked, and she looked over at the other woman.

“Yes, I was just thinking,” Jill said as the elevator doors slid open. They stepped on, and Jill hit the fourth-floor button. Just hours before, she and Chris were taking this very same elevator. If only she had talked to him. Jill stepped back as guilt ate away at her, her hands balling into fists at her sides. Claire was still looking at her, and she sighed, relaxing. “I miss him.”

“You’ve got it bad, huh?” Claire teased as she elbowed her in the side.

Jill’s smile was brief before she nodded. “I guess I do. I just wish he would have woken up while we were there. I’d feel much better knowing he was okay.”

“I know what you mean,” Claire said, looking at her brother’s phone. “I think the only time he was ever in a hospital was when we were teens. Chris was an overprotective brother since our parents died. Chris took on the role of our parents and took care of me; he was super serious about it, too. I remember climbing this tree with a few other kids at the orphanage. Chris found out and told me to get down; some limbs looked fragile. I didn’t listen, and one broke. He managed to catch me, but I knocked him down. He hit his head hard on the concrete but wasn’t mad at me. I still remember him asking if I was okay. Even though he was the one who couldn't even walk straight and threw up in a nearby trash can.” Claire let out a dispirited chuckle. “Idiot had a pretty nasty concussion and was worried about me.”

“That sounds just like him,” Jill said as she looked at the elevator floor. “We were on this case together once. I remember this guy attacked me in one of the rooms. He was hiding in the ceiling and jumped down, hitting the back of my head with, I don't even know what. I fell, and he pinned me down; I couldn't move. Chris then showed up cause he heard the commotion. I don't think I've ever seen him get so mad. He nearly threw the guy out the window.”

“I told you, he cares a lot about you.”

Jill fell silent as she thought about that case. It was a typical ‘possible B.O.W.,’ and they went into the house to investigate. Instead, they had found a man on the run from the law. The man caught Jill off guard by hiding in the ceiling of one of the rooms. He jumped down and struck her with a blunt object, knocking her to the ground. She tried to struggle, but he had the advantage in size and build. If she was being honest, it terrified her when he overpowered her so quickly. With her head pounding, she couldn’t think straight or get free from his grip.

Then Chris showed up. She could still recall how Chris’s face went from shock to fury in the flick of a switch. Her memory of the event was a bit foggy, but she could faintly remember the man getting a pretty harsh beating from her partner. To the point, he broke the window with the man’s face. She was sure he would have gone out the window if Chris hadn’t controlled himself. It seemed excessive then, but she had always thought that it was just Chris defending a teammate and that he would do it for anyone. But it was starting to make sense based on what Claire and Rebecca had told her- the anger he displayed and how gentle he was with her. Chris ensured she was conscious, called for backup, and didn't allow her to move. Instead, he kept asking if she was alright and if the man hurt her. Jill had been pretty out of it, but that piece stuck with her. How worried he sounded and how tender he was bandaging her head where the man struck her. She didn't remember much after that except waking in a hospital with her favorite flowers by her bedside. Something she had thought was left by the BSAA for their fuck up. Had he been the one who left them? Did he care about her as much as she did him?

“You know, he told me about that story. He called me and told me what happened. I could tell it was bothering him, so I went to his apartment, and he kept saying it was his fault you got hurt. He had you guys split up and said he shouldn’t have done that. I told him it wasn’t, but Chris is as stubborn as they come. He was fuming that night. I’m pretty sure that was the first time I ever heard my brother want to kill another human being willingly. Besides Wesker, well, can you even call that man one? He said he was so worried about you. He wanted to stay by your side until you woke up, but the staff said no. That visiting hours were over. He wanted to argue with them but stopped himself. He was afraid they wouldn’t allow him to visit you when you did wake. I don’t even think Chris slept that night. He was gone first thing in the morning, and when he returned, he said he had gone out to get flowers for you. The minute they allowed visiting hours, Chris and I dropped them off to you. You weren’t awake yet, and Chris was going to stay, but he got called in.” Claire smiled slightly. “Don’t tell him I told you any of this. I promised I wouldn’t.”

So he had left them? Jill felt a squeezing sensation in her chest. There were so many signs that he cared, but she always pushed them away. Not believing that he cared about her more than his other teammates. Jill felt sick to her stomach. She nearly killed him. She wasn’t even sure if he would make it past those six hours. Jill looked at the numbers light up above the doors. They were almost there.

“I’m worried about him too.” Jill looked back at Claire as she gripped the phone in her hand tightly, looking down. “Chris’s my only family. Chris was always there for me and did everything he could to protect me. He still does. I don’t want to lose my brother. I can't.”

Jill could see his sister was hurting inside. She did her best to stay stoic, but Chris was her only family. They were very tight-knit siblings, and it pained her to see Claire like this. Jill inhaled silently and let it out. She had to have faith in her partner. Jill needed to trust that he would be okay and wouldn’t leave them behind. “Chris won’t die,” Jill said as she gave Claire a reassuring smile. “He’s too stubborn.”

This time, Claire had a ghost of a smile. “You’re right. He’s worse than me. Hell, he can’t even admit his feelings.”

The elevator chimed, and the two women stepped off the elevator. Jill fell in step with Claire as they walked toward Rebecca’s lab. Her thoughts drifted back to her partner. Did he like her like that? Still, it was hard to believe, but she knew Claire wouldn’t be cruel. She was anything but. Chris shared a lot with his sister, and maybe there was a chance it was true- That it wasn’t just speculation on Claire’s end. Jill breathed out. After they solved this mission, she would talk to him about how she felt. That was if he got through the next six hours. Jill looked at her watch: one hour and a half and five to go with no phone calls from the hospital. No news was the best news in her book.

They stopped at Rebecca’s lab, and Jill stepped inside, holding the door for Claire. Once she walked in, she let it close and walked over to where Rebecca was standing. Rebecca looked at a transparent board with a few notes scribbled on with a white, erasable grease pen. “Rebecca,” Jill began, and she looked over at them.

“Jill… and Claire?” Rebecca seemed surprised but smiled in greeting. “How have you been?”

“Could be better,” Claire said in a melancholy voice.

Rebecca looked from Claire to her questioningly before looking behind them. “Where’s Chris? Is he not coming?”

Jill shook her head, feeling an ache in her chest. Claire looked down as she held his phone to her chest. “Chris was hurt. The phone call we got was a trap.”

“Hurt? What happened? Is he okay?” Rebecca said all at once, a fearful and shocked look on her face.

Jill gathered her thoughts and willed her emotions to stay at bay. She would not break down and would remain strong for Claire. “The doctor said he was stable for now, but he’s in the ICU. A tyrant showed up at the place we went to. It was unlike any of the other tyrants we have previously encountered. It was larger and much faster than I thought possible. That black sludge must have infected it somehow. It went after Chris and-” Jill could still see the fight in her head, and she swallowed. The way that thing had beat up her partner like it was nothing. “It broke some of his ribs, and then it tried to crush him. It must have squeezed him hard enough to cause one of the breaks to puncture his lung, and it caused internal bleeding. He went into shock from his injuries, and now they’re watching him for the next six hours. If he has no issues, they said he should be okay.”

Rebecca paled at her words and brought a hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

“Jill thinks that whoever sent them there was after Chris,” Claire said, looking at Rebecca.

“After Chris?”

Jill nodded before she spoke. “The tyrant was intent on killing him. I tried to distract it and get it to come after me. No matter what I did or how much I shot it, it still went after Chris.” She looked down at the floor as the guilt reared its head. “If only I had told him, maybe he wouldn’t have been hurt. I should have-”

“Told him what?”

Jill looked over at Claire as she looked at her, bewildered. “I had had a dream last night. In it, a tyrant had killed Chris. Just like it tried to do before. If I would have told him about it, he would have been a lot more careful and-”

“Jill, this isn’t your fault,” Rebecca said, and Claire nodded. “You couldn’t have known that was going to happen.”

“But in a way, I did know,” Jill said, feeling her chest tighten.

“How could you have known your dream would come true?” Claire asked as she looked at her. “I bet my brother would be too damn stubborn to listen even if you did tell him about it. Especially if he knew you might be in danger, too.”

Deep down, Jill knew that Claire was right. It was hard getting him to even think about regrouping with more people. But that didn’t stop the way she felt inside. If he died, she wouldn’t know what she would do. Knowing that she could have prevented Chris from getting hurt in the first place if she had just told him. Jill pushed the feeling aside for now. There would be time later to try to process her emotions. Right now, they needed to locate the person responsible and stop them. Jill cleared her throat and looked at the two women. “We need to find who did this before they find out that Chris is alive. They'll finish the job if they find his location. He wouldn’t even be able to defend himself. Rebecca, do you still have that video you received?”

“I do. I can pull it up.” Rebecca said as she logged into the lab’s email address. Once in, she blinked as her mouse hovered over a new email. “This is new. It looks like it’s from the same sender.” She clicked on the email, and they read the message.

My condolences

Below it was an attachment to another video. Rebecca clicked on it, and a window opened on her computer. A woman was centered on the screen, wearing a lab coat with the Umbrella insignia. Her hair was black and tied in a high ponytail- meticulously applied makeup on her face. She cleared her throat and placed a hand on her chest. A sad smile tugged at her lips while her eyes maliciously smiled. “My deepest condolences to the BSAA on this tragic night. The BSAA personnel are ready to die in the line of duty, and the same goes for one of the founding members. Tonight, we toast to the death of Chris Redfield.” Jill felt anger surge through her as Claire glared daggers at the screen. The woman grinned before she laughed.

“How does it feel to walk into such an obvious trap? I hope he suffered an agonizing death. I regret that I didn’t put cameras in the warehouse so I could sit and watch with a bowl of popcorn. Since I missed out on the enjoyment, I must ask, was it fun to watch my tyrant crush your beloved partner to death, Jill Valentine?” Jill balled her hands into fists at her sides. “I’m sure you must be pretty upset. I’m sure you are dying for the chance at revenge. You seem like the type. I would love to have the opportunity to talk to you in person.” The woman smirked as she tapped her forefinger on her chin. “But is this a trap? Oh, that shouldn’t matter. You willingly let your friend walk into his grave. Will you be that brazen again? Of course, you would; you have nothing left to lose now. My location is here-” The woman held a page to the screen. On it was an address that looked near the location she and Chris had been at. “I will be waiting. I’d love to discuss why my bioweapons are so powerful and how my special project led specifically to that bastard’s long-awaited death. I look forward to meeting you, Ms. Valentine, and I’ll send some flowers for his grave. I hope you don’t mind dead ones.”

The video feed cut and Jill stared at the email left in its wake. She could feel pain in her palms before she realized she was digging her nails into her skin with rage. “That bitch!” Jill and Rebecca jumped as they looked over at Claire as she slammed her fist down on the desk. “That fucking bitch!”

Jill felt furious, but she could not imagine how Claire felt inside. That woman had joyously mocked her brother’s supposed death, hoping he had suffered before dying. She was the one responsible for the targeting and attack on him- she celebrated the mere thought of killing the only family Claire had. Jill looked back at the screen before she straightened. “Can you rewind to the address, Rebecca?”

Rebecca nodded as she clicked the link to the video again. This time, she muted it and sped it up to when she put the page in the camera. Jill grabbed a pen and paper off Rebecca’s desk and wrote the address down. “So, you are going, knowing this is a trap.”

“I’m coming,” Claire said, “she is going to see what happens when someone messes with Chris.”

Jill looked at his sister and debated on letting her come. The woman had set her off in not the best way. Rage was guiding her, and she needed to keep a level head. The woman wanted this. But she couldn’t leave her behind. Chris was her brother. She deserved the right to take that woman down as well. “Can you keep a level head? She’s going to use her thinking Chris is dead against you. To get you to make mistakes.”

Claire nodded as she faced her. “I can keep myself levelheaded. Plus, she might be after you next. Chris would never forgive me if I willingly let you go there and she killed you. We need to stick together.”

“I’m coming, too.” Both women looked at Rebecca, surprised. She looked from Claire to her. “What? He’s my friend, too. I can still handle myself. Plus, you’re going to need a medic on standby. If these bioweapons could take Chris down, she might be harboring more of the same. Or worse. You’ll need all the help you can get.”

Rebecca was right. They would need more than just the two of them to stop her. Jill nodded and looked at both women. “We must stop at the BSAA armory before even going there. We will need all the weapons we can get our hands on—proximity mines, grenades, rifles—to stock up. Those bioweapons are strong and fast.”

“Then let’s go,” Claire said as she turned and walked toward the door. Jill watched her leave and looked back at Rebecca.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Rebecca said as she got up.

“Thank you,” Jill said as they started for the door. They were in for one hell of a battle to stop this woman. If only they had Chris with them. She was worried for Claire. ‘I’ll keep your sister safe,’ she thought as she looked at her watch—four more hours to go. ‘Hang in there, Chris.’

#resident evil #chris redfield #jill valentine #valenfield #claire redfield #rebecca chambers #ao3 fanfic #words that were never spoken #chapter 7

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