A/N;

Considering my mood and the worry for my dog's health, I figured I could get around to writing this. I'd like to say in advance, 'Sorry'.

Chris had wanted to keep his promise that he had made to Jill, no matter what. As such he had ended up falling asleep in his car, waiting for her return. He knew well that they would probably have to keep Milo in over night considering the operation, so guess Jill would arrive on her own.

Or in the morning – He wouldn't put it past her to stay there all night in the waiting rooms. There was no way he could blame her if she did, she clearly cared very deeply for that feline.

At some early hour of the morning, before the sun had even given a hint of rising, Chris was awoken by the heavy sound of his door opening. He barely had a chance to open his eyes before Jill's arms had slinked around his neck, holding tightly while leaving the door open. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Her tears were enough to tell the tale.

"Jill… I'm sorry…" All he could do was place one arm around her, and gently stroke her hair with his free hand. He'd let her cry it out, no matter how many hours they had to spend in that spot.

He'd ended up in her apartment, proving to be the only comfort she seemed to have in her living space. While she had managed to quiet down in the car trip there, it hadn't taken her long to cling to him again, once again crying her eyes out. He'd just continued to hold her, having some knowledge as to what she needed.

Both sat on the couch, Chris pushed up against the back and armrest as Jill hung on tightly. He wasn't going to go home dry that night, he knew it. He himself had never imagined seeing Jill cry so hard, but low and behold, there she was. He was learning and witnessing far more things that night about her that it was becoming hard to sort through the information.

While through the sobs things were said, Chris had a hard time actually deciphering them. He was able to pick up little bits of clearly upset dialogue, noticing that she was simply repeating herself every so often. He just continued to hold her, and did his best to listen to what she was saying. It was the least he could do for her.

He felt her grip on him tighten as she looked up at him a fraction, just trying to meet his eyes. It was really a sad sight – Her eyes were red, as were her eyes to some degree, and her bottom lip was quivering quite a bit.

"My god… I want my cat, Chris…" She whimpered, before pressing against him again and hiding her face against his chest, "I want my cat…!"

"Shh…" He attempted to sooth, continuing to stroke her hair lightly and giving her a soft kiss on top of her head. The woman was far too emotional to notice the act, instead continuing to cry as she had been.

Chris sighed once again, hugging her. He still continued to wish he could do something for her, but so far nothing he had done had made any real difference. The poor dear wanted her cat, and there was no way he could grant her that.

Suddenly she pushed her palms against him, taking him by surprise and causing him to let go of her. There appeared to be new hurt in her eyes as she glared at him, causing the man's stomach to turn with panic.

She clenched her fists, as well as her teeth as she stayed silent for a few moments, abate her occasional sobs. "You said he couldn't die, Chris!" She shouted, taking him once more off guard, "You lied to me!"

"H, hang on!" He stuttered, trying to take it all in fast as he reached his hand out to her. She slapped it in return, practically throwing herself off of the couch and storming off to her room. The loud slam of her door made the young man jolt.

"Shit…" He mouthed, slowly rising from his seat. He glanced in the direction Jill had gone, mind racing with scenarios that could happen if he even so much as took a step near her room. None of them ended well.

Reluctantly, he decided it far better to leave. Her mood didn't fill him with confidence, and he knew she would be upset if he was still there if she chose to return. He didn't hold the outburst against her – She needed someone to blame, just as a way to cope with it. Sure, he wished it wasn't him of all people, but being a martyr in this situation wouldn't do him too great a deal of harm.

He picked up the spare key to her apartment before exiting. It may have been a small invasion of privacy, but he had the feeling that he would be back later, whether she had calmed down or not. Besides, it was not as if she would notice it was gone. Jill had always done a very good job of hiding it in one of her most hated books that no-one she knew would touch without protective gloves.

He took one last glance over his shoulder, towards Jill's room once more, before leaving and locking the door behind him. He sighed to himself, wishing he knew what else he could do to help his dear friend. But only one thing came to mind, and that would result in two possible out comes. One of them being a punch to the jaw, something he did not wish to receive from the upset woman.

Jill's absence at work the next day did surprise a few of the STARS members, if not all of them. Ms. Valentine wasn't known for missing any days of work, especially without any word. She had only ever taken two sick days. She was far too hardy to get ill often and too willed to decide to just skip a day's work.

Only a few hours of the day managed to pass before Chris grabbed his jacket and abruptly left the office. It did raise a few brows from his work mates, but no-one questioned. When he didn't come back an hour later, they wished they had. There was now a lot more paperwork for them.

Despite leaving quite early from work, Chris didn't arrive back at Jill's apartment until quite some hours later. He had to refill the car, surprised at how long the whole thing had taken – Giving his car quite a number of extra miles. As he slinked into the apartment, all he could do was hope that Jill Valentine would be a little more affectionate towards his arrival.

As his ears picked up the woman's crying, however, he began to doubt that.

He closed the door quietly behind him, doing his best not to grab the woman's attention from the other room. He had no doubt that she would know that it was him, but would rather not be kicked out of the living space just as he stepped foot inside. It was difficult enough keeping something you had no real control over quiet, let along keeping both it and one's self as silent as possible.

He had kicked off his shoes before coming in, walking in his socks. He was cautious going about this to say the least. Walking through the lounge, it wasn't long at all before he'd reached her door, opening it just as quietly as he had with the front door.

"What do you want?!"

No luck. He should have known better – She had superior hearing to anyone he knew. The young woman was lying on her stomach, blankets pulled up over her. She didn't seem to want to look at him, instead grabbing one of the pillows and roughly pulling it over her head.

He shook her head at his reaction. He was grateful for it, however, especially since he had originally been expecting a vase to be thrown at his head. It seemed that she was too torn up to move to violent measures.

"V, c'mon, calm down." He attempted to sooth, only receiving a drawn out grunt from the woman, who refused to budge from her position.

"Just go away!"

He swallowed hard, knowing there was no way she was going to change her stance. May as well do it now. More cautiously than silently this time, he strolled to the side of her bed. Feeling his presence, she rolled over, her back to him. She was in no mood to see him, even if he had been there earlier to help her. Ah, guilt, what a horrible time to pick.

He paused beside her, before breathing in heavily. "V, look at me." Jill gave no response, but moved a fraction when she felt some extra weight beside her. Far too light to be Chris, or even Chris' hand. She continued the way she was, fighting her curiousity before a soft yowling sound rang out.

The girl shot up, sitting straight and looking beside her. Appearing somewhat distressed was a bundle of white fluff, only slight hints of a nice brown through out it. She quickly looked at Chris, said look quickly developing into a similar glare to last time.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

Yep, punch right to the jaw, just as he expected. He closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself. However, instead of receiving a rather hard whop to the face, he heard the sound of the bed springs instead. Carefully opening one eye, he saw Jill pick up the little bundle of fur and stalk out.

"Shit, what've I done…?" He mumbled rather worried to himself, hastily following after the woman. Upon leaving the bedroom he heard a loud slam, easily able to connect the sound with the fridge in Jill's kitchen.

He stood still, listening to a few things he wasn't accustom to at all. The sound of a few things being unscrewed, rather hazardously, but nothing else he could determine. He thought off the urge to check what was going on, having no real clue to it, and glanced at the clock. It wasn't until ten minutes had passed that he worked up the courage to see what was going on.

"You have no idea how to look after cats, do you?"

The first thing to meet his eyes. Jill stood with her back to one of the counters, holding the small kitten in a blanket with one hand, holding what looked like a small bottle to it in the other. Although her eyes still appeared tired, they no longer held the anger they previously had.

"Hey, they hate me, do you really think I'd take the time to?" Chris slowly answered back, taking a step closer. Without a flinch or step back as a reaction, he slowly felt his confidence return.

"The poor thing's probably starving." She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she looked down at the small bundle of fur in her grasp. She didn't need to encourage it what-so-ever, the greedy little thing seeming all too keen and chugging down the formula Jill had constructed.

"I…" She began hesitantly, glancing away from both, "… Was considering getting another kitten, while I still had Milo… That's why I had these things, just in case I went through with them. I wanted another Ragdoll, but I couldn't find any breeders in the area."

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling before closing her eyes. "Then all this happened, and… How in the world did you get this little guy, Chris…?"

Chris simply shrugged, not particularly wanting her to know. She was very much correct – There were no breeders for quite a distance, a few hours drive in any direction. The last thing she needed to know was that he had driven three hours, both back and down, in order to get the small Ragdoll kitten she was nursing.

"… It's so tiny…"

Chris hadn't taken his gaze off her as she said this, seeing her look down at the little feline. He shrugged once again, before moving to stand beside her, very thankful for her returning calm nature. "He's just a little kitten, after all." He mumbled, looking rather oddly at the creature in question.

"He?" Jill asked after a slight paused, looking up at Chris. He gave a nod, hesitant once more before looking away.

"… Maybe it was insensitive, but…" Jill shook her head as he said this, inching closer and pressing her side against his.

"… Not at all." She said, before sighing slightly. She was still having a hard time coming to grips with her lose of Milo. But she of all people should know, people need to move on, even if you continue to mourn in silence. To hell if Milo had just been a cat, she loved him dearly. She thought for a moment. Milo had been from her father, and this little one was a gift from Chris. Cats from the most important men she had in her life.

"Right, I should leave you to bond with him, or, somethin' like that." Chris muttered, moving to walk away. He hadn't even taken a step before Jill stood on his foot, causing the man to yelp and quickly look back to her. She gave him an innocent smile which was more similar to a smirk before shrugging.

"Sorry, I couldn't exactly grab you." She explained, the smirk still remaining.

"Well what the heck was that for, then?" He pouted, inspiring that smirk to once again shift back to a smile.

"I can't let you leave yet," She explained, looking back down at the small kitten. Chris raised his brow, confused by what she meant, or where it was leading. She looked up at him once more, meeting his gaze, her eyes far clearer than what they had been earlier, "This little tyke needs to know who his daddy is…"

Chris felt a small tinge of heat over his cheeks, swiftly looking away from her. She chuckled softly at this, giving him some time to gather his words.

"You certainly are subtle, aren't you?" Chris breathed, looking back to her once more as she rested her head against the side of his arm. She mumbled a slight 'mhm', and nothing else.

At least Chris had gotten his answer.

It was a cat.