December 25

11:15 p.m.

"What's going on?" Leon asked, barely making a noise as he entered. Jake tensed, mentally chastising himself for not coming up with an excuse for the situation.

"It's me, I confess," Rebecca piped up, switching out another vial. "I never got to get hands-on with Jake's blood, and I saw an opportunity now and took it."

Leon handed Jake a bag of food, eyeing Rebecca suspiciously. Jake pulled out a banana and peeled it with his teeth, taking big bites so no one could ask him anything.

"You think his antibodies might help Sherry? 'Cause she never got the C-Virus vaccine," Leon said finally.

"Why not?" Rebecca asked, cocking her head to the side like an inquisitive bird.

"She was worried it might mess with her own 'mutant genes', as she put it."

Jake tore open the cellophane wrapper of some sort of pastry and took a big bite, hoping to buy himself some more time. Rebecca gave him a look, then looked at Leon, then her eyes finally settled on the five vials of blood she took from Jake. She withdrew the needle from his arm and pressed a gauze pad into the pit of his elbow and instructed him to hold it. After disposing of the needle, she slapped a bandage over the gauze.

"Well, I'm going to run some tests and hopefully I'll get some answers," Rebecca said, taking the tablet and blood vials as she made her exit. Leon watched her go, then took the seat she had been using. Jake had a mouthful of cheese Danish that turned to cotton as Leon eyed him with suspicion.

"So much for not being hungry," he remarked. Jake forced himself to swallow before taking a gulp of whatever was in the paper cup Leon had set down next to him.

"What is this, cocoa?" he asked.

"'Tis the season."

"Real cute."

Leon glanced over at Sherry before scrubbing his face with his hands. She was sleeping soundly, but the whole incident must have taken years off his life. Jake looked a little worse for the wear and could probably use a hot shower and a few hours of rest.

"Why don't I take you to your hotel so you can wash up and get some clean clothes?" Leon suggested after a few minutes of silence. Jake cut his eyes over towards the older man and smirked.

"What hotel? They never found my reservation."

"What? I called it in personally," Leon huffed, pulling up his email. "Oh…they emailed me to cancel the reservation due to a plumbing issue. I was on a mission when they sent this. Shit, I'm sorry Jake."

Jake seemed more amused than annoyed as he shrugged a shoulder and gestured at Sherry. "She was kind enough to lend me her couch," he explained. And her bed. "Shame for me the alien convention is in town, otherwise they could have gotten me a room."

Leon crinkled his brow and said, "The what?"

Jake waved a hand and rubbed at his eyes, feeling the day weighing on him like a ton of bricks. His muscles ached, his knuckles were red and sore from the beating he gave The Hornet before Sherry arrived, and his pants were stiff with her dried blood.

"I'll bring you to her place and you can get washed up and changed, then," Leon said finally, standing before Jake could argue. He wanted to argue that they should stay, but he accepted Kennedy's offer instead. They walked out of the hospital to the parking garage and headed towards Sherry's apartment building. The two men didn't speak much on the drive over, and Leon bit back a smart ass comment as Jake lock-picked his way into Sherry's apartment with ease.

Jake grabbed his duffel and made a bee-line for the shower, trying not to think about what happened the last time he was in that room. He showered for practicality, removing the sweat, blood, and grime from his skin without allowing the hot water to ease his aching body. He wanted to be by Sherry's bedside when she woke up, not pampering himself because he could.

Leon was patrolling the apartment, looking at a bookshelf when Jake emerged in fresh clothing.

"Have you been here before?" Jake asked, running a towel over his hair.

"No, actually. It's very…utilitarian. Not many personal touches, like she didn't want to make the space hers," Leon replied, an edge of sadness to his voice. "Except for the decorations, I guess." Jake felt heat on his cheeks as Leon admired the holiday display he had painstakingly picked out and set up. Leon knelt down and pulled a present from under the tree.

"For you?" he asked Jake, shaking the small box.

"No," Jake replied. "For her." He disappeared into Sherry's room again before Leon could ask any awkward questions. "I'm gonna get together some clothes for her," he called.

"I'll find you a bag."

Jake pulled open dresser drawers and selected items of comfort rather than style. Sweat pants, a thermal long-sleeved t-shirt, a sports bra and black cotton underwear. He stacked the items on top of the dresser and was pushing the drawer closed when he saw something peeking out from under Sherry's intimates. Curious, Jake grabbed a corner and pulled out a picture of himself.

He cocked his head to the side, turning the picture over to find his name written on the back.

"That's the first proof we had that you existed," Leon said from the doorway, causing Jake to jump.

"Where'd you get this?" he replied.

"Surveillance drone. It was luck. People were starting to believe that you didn't even exist. No one thought your old man was the relationship type."

Jake dropped the photo back into the drawer and slid it shut, carrying the pile of clothing over to Leon. "He wasn't," he muttered, heading into the bathroom. He had no idea what Sherry might need, so he grabbed the essentials and deposited them into Leon's bag before heading back out into the apartment. He plucked Sherry's long winter jacket from the back of a chair before gesturing to the door. Leon got the hint and the two men headed out.

The silence was more awkward on the ride back to the hospital. Jake stared out the window at the bright lights flying by and just wanted to get the awkwardness out of the way.

"Dr. Chambers told me what Sherry's father did to her," he began.

"Rebecca did? How'd that come up?" Leon questioned, changing lanes to avoid a double-parked taxi.

"I told her that I was concerned that my antibodies might not…agree with Sherry's."

"But Sherry didn't take the C-Virus vaccine. We just talked about this at the hospital."

Jake let out a sigh, wishing Leon hadn't chosen this specific moment to be so dense. He scratched the back of his head and took a breath. "That's not how she got them," he said finally. Leon was silent, eyes on the road, hands at ten and two. Is he really going to make me spell it out for him? Jake wondered as the seconds ticked by. "We had sex."

"I see," Leon said finally, swallowing deeply.

"We got caught up in the moment and neither one of us thought to use protection. It was only after Sherry's couldn't heal that I started to panic and wonder if that might be why."

Leon was quiet for a long time, and Jake didn't feel the need to add anything. He didn't need to justify his or Sherry's actions. But he knew that Leon cared for Sherry deeply, much like he would his own daughter if he had one.

"She cares about you," Leon said quietly. "Everything that she went through…Raccoon City, the things Birkin did to her…when she came back after the C-Virus outbreak, she was different. It took a long time for her to be able to discuss what happened, but even after all that she still had this…glow about her."

Jake turned to look at Leon whose eyes had turned glassy.

"She told me everything that happened. But anytime she spoke about you, she was happy. From one sentence to the next, it was like night and day. The creatures, the ravaging effects of the C-Virus, getting locked up for six months, none of that seemed to bother her. Because you were there with her, it was worth it."

"Wow," Jake sighed. "I…had no idea."

Leon pulled into the garage of the hospital, killed the engine, and rubbed his face. He reached into his jacket pocket and handed Jake the present he found under the Christmas tree. Jake took it and fingered the satin bow absentmindedly.

"I care about her, too. A lot," he said, sounding a bit stunted. "I don't have much going for me in this world except for her."

"I might argue that point with you, especially considering you were instrumental in bringing down an international fugitive today."

Jake laughed lightly, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Was that really today? All of that slipped away once Sherry was hurt," he admitted.

Leon opened his door and retrieved the bag from the back seat, following Jake as he headed inside. It was a relief to know that Leon wasn't pissed and that Sherry cared about Jake as much as he cared about her. He wondered how he got so lucky.

The two men walked together to Sherry's room, finding Rebecca inside. There were dark smudges under her eyes as she looked up from her laptop.

"News?" Leon asked hopefully.

"Yes and no. I've analyzed Sherry's blood and it does seem like her body, err, blood, isn't quite sure what to do with Jake's antibodies," Rebecca replied, running a hand through her hair. "Her body isn't rejecting them, exactly, more like analyzing."

"Huh," Leon muttered.

"Rebecca, he knows," Jake added, pointing a finger between himself and Sherry."

"Oh. Good, that will make this easier to explain. In all likelihood your antibodies will either be accepted into the mix, or destroyed by her immune system. I'm leaning towards the former, but it's hard to say," Rebecca said to Jake.

"What if she does end up rejecting them?" he asked gently.

"It would have happened by now. She has been fine since the, um, introduction of your antibodies, correct?" Jake nodded and tried not to turn red. "The only indication that anything was awry is that she couldn't heal as normal. My best guess is that her body is trying to make sense of your…unique chemical structure, which requires the activation of the G-Virus/vaccine enzymes. Her body just wasn't able to multi-task at the moment."

Both Jake and Leon breathed out a sigh of relief. Jake fell into the chair by Sherry's bed and ran both hands over his head. He never would have been able to forgive himself if he had screwed up Sherry on a biological level. Leon laid a hand on his shoulder and patted it roughly. Rebecca looked at her watch and closed her laptop.

"I am beyond exhausted and this jet-lag is murder. Leon, would you be able to bring me to the hotel? I'd rather like to avoid mass transit in the middle of the night," she requested. Leon deposited Sherry's bag next to Jake.

"No problem. I was about to head out myself. Muller, you'll call me when she wakes up?" he asked the younger man. Jake flicked his icy-blue eyes up and nodded affirmatively. He stood and gave Rebecca a tight hug, which surprised even him.

"Thank you," he whispered huskily into her ear. "You have no idea…thank you."

"It was my pleasure," she replied, patting his cheek. "Get some rest. Sherry's going to need someone to nurse her back to health, you know."

Jake's mouth twitched into a smile as she winked knowingly at him before following Leon out the door. He was beyond tired as he moved to stand in front of the window and watch the snow fall on the sleepy city. When he first arrived, he could think of nothing other than taking The Hornet down. Sex crimes and nuclear materials couldn't hold a match to Sherry's well-being.

He had speculated that their attraction to each other was mutual; you don't go through hell with someone just to part ways when you get back after all. Sexual attraction was one thing; it was a basic animal instinct to procreate. But he didn't think he would be lucky enough for her to actually have genuine feelings for him. He was the mercenary, the man who would put all of humanity on one side of a scale, with his own interests on the other. At least he used to be.

Jake placed his Christmas gift to Sherry on her lap and settled into the chair by her bed again. Despite the uncomfortable seating, he fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Sherry woke slowly, as if being pulled from a sticky, syrupy dream. She blinked as the first rays of sunlight crept into her room, the Manhattan skyline glittering to welcome a new day. She turned and smiled upon seeing Jake sprawled on an upholstered chair, his head cocked to the side. She watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest for a few minutes, happy to listen to the rhythmic sound of his breathing.

When she tried to shift her position, Sherry hissed at the sudden stab of pain in her abdomen. This caused Jake to jerk awake, coming to check on her immediately. He cupped her face in his hands. "Are you alright?" he asked hoarsely, reaching to take one of her hands in his.

"What happened?" she asked, staring up at him with blue orbs full of confusion. Jake explained everything that had happened since The Hornet knocked her through that window and concluded with Rebecca's best guess as to what was going on in Sherry's body. She laid a hand on her wound and Jake struggled to find the right thing to say.

The wrapped box was still in her lap, and she reached for it when the silence between them had become almost unbearable.

"What's this?" she asked, holding it up for inspection.

"That was under your Christmas tree," Jake replied, doing his best to appear nonchalant. "Leon brought it here with him. Maybe it's from him. I don't know." Sherry laughed at him gently.

"You're a terrible liar," she sighed, pulling at the satin bow. "Should I wait for Leon to come back before I open it?" Jake gave her a wry smile and a shrug. She rolled her eyes at him before peeking inside the small box. Her fingers pulled out the item from inside and she held it in front of her eyes.

"The lemniscate, or infinity symbol," Jake explained, "has a whole lot of math jargon attached to it. The nice lady at the store said that it also represents forever, or limitless and never-ending possibilities, my personal favorites." He looked down at the floor in a rare instance of feeling bashful. When he glanced up again, Sherry was clasping the necklace on with glassy eyes.

"Jake," she whispered, the silver symbol resting against her porcelain skin just so. "It's perfect." He bent down and pressed his lips against hers as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"The only perfect thing in the world is you, Super Girl."

The End

A/N: That's it! I hope you enjoyed reading my little story. I may write an epilogue just to wrap up the whole Hornet storyline (I can't tell you how many times I typed "Horney" on accident XD) Thanks to everyone who commented and stuck through to the end.

And in case anyone cared, The Hornet's club is located here: Nightcap- 356 Broadway West Broadway and Grand. I did some Google satellite work, but had to fudge a little on the alleyways to enhance the story. The building Jake takes The Hornet into is also real! You can streetview it.