Summary: If either of them died right then, he wanted to remember her the way he loved her; with her true beauty, and smiling at him. [ChrisxJill] Character Death

I was inspired by one friggin' line of someone else's fanfiction about this. It's, oddly enough, a LeonxWesker so if you're interested I can send a link to the story. The woman makes amazing things.

~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~~

Her face haunted him in his nightmares, even when he was awake. For six years, all thoughts went back to her and how he had managed to somehow lose her. Jill Valentine was his partner; and more than that, they were best friends. He sometimes thought that he probably loved her, but with Umbrella looming over them, it wasn't the time or place to think or react on such thoughts.

When she first joined STARS, he remembered thinking that someone so beautiful couldn't be in such dangerous work. And it wasn't the sexism that seemed to plaster itself into their team from Richard or Chief Irons, he just didn't want to see her in any type of pain.

Barry had once asked him about his ideal women. They were bored, waiting for Wesker to return from a meeting so they could run over an operation, and Barry wondered how she'd compare to someone like Jill, who was pretty and smart and always calm. Chris said that there was no comparison, because Jill didn't need to be changed. He was embarrassed to know that she had overheard him, but she just smiled.

"In our line of work," Barry had said after the meeting, pulling the brown haired male aside. "We're never sure about how long we have. You should talk to her before you find out you can't."

Chris had appreciated the advice but never acted on it. Not when they were running through the Mansion, not when he found her in a locked cell, not when Wesker betrayed them and blew up the whole place.

Not when Raccoon ran them out.

Not when she was forced back.

Not when he had to run after Claire when some officer named Leon had contacted him.

And not when they went to the Spencer Estate.

Regrets were something Chris never went on. He never thought about them, never gave them a chance to slowly claw their way into his head. He didn't have time. But the only regret he'd ever held until this point was allowing Jill to throw herself out the window with Wesker.

Well, that and now.

Chris could only lower his handgun as he stared at her. Sure, he'd seen the pictures from the computer but this was different. He felt like it was all surreal and he'd stepped into a fantasy. It was her…it was Jill, but she was different. Like someone had upgraded her.

Her hair was pale blond, shimmering whenever she stepped. It stayed the same length since her fall, being pulled back into a ponytail. He always wondered why she never cut it like before, but he figured she had her reasons. Her eyes had gone from oceans to icicles. They were cold, though still as gorgeous as every other bit of her. The odd leather she wore, much like Wesker's own clothing, was a dark black, which hugged her everywhere. It was with some small sense of shame and embarrassment that he noticed her chest was slightly bigger, though not by much. In every way, though, it seemed like she was…better.

He hated it.

Staring at her from the bottom of her machine gun, Chris could only hope that he could see her one last time; the real Jill, not this carbon copy. It might be her body, her face, her heart, but this would never be his Jill.

He wanted back the dark brown hair, whether she cut it or not. He wanted back the soft tan to her skin, her uniform that she wore, either it be the STARS one or the new BSAA edition. Hell, he'd gladly take her in her halter she wore at Raccoon. But most of all, he wanted back her blue eyes. He wanted the dark blue, and how she always seemed to ooze a certain warmth, even if it was to a stranger.

"Jill…" He whispered, and saw that there wasn't anything in her fake eyes that showed she recognized him. "Please, Jill…Don't do this."

He snarled when Wesker walked over, infuriating him with how he strode around like he owned the place. Granted, he probably did, but it still pissed the BSAA agent off.

"What have you done to her?" Chris hissed, eyes still on his once partner.

The blond man smirked, his eyes gleaming from behind his sunglasses. "Oh, poor Chris. Don't you see? I've fixed her, just like I'll fix the rest of the world."

"…'Fix her'?" the dark haired man echoed, feeling a rage spread through his blood. "Fuck you! She didn't need to be fixed!"

He almost got the satisfaction of hitting the man in the face, but Jill swiftly kicked him in the gut and sent him rolling away. He gasped, trying to get his bearings. It didn't help that he watched his nemesis calmly walk over, chuckling darkly as he went.

"I should've known. You love her."

Chris glared at him, briefly looking over to where Sheva had fallen. He'd almost forgotten her, since Jill had put the woman's own knife through her palm. His breath stopped when Wesker grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up.

"Well, Chris? Don't you have any last words for the woman you love before you die by her hands?"

Chris glared at him, the reality hitting him there. He was about to die. He'd failed, he couldn't stop Tricell or Excella or Wesker. He failed Josh, Sheva…all of the BSAA agents that had died before him. But what hit him the most was that he failed Jill; he'd finally found her, and now she was going to kill him and before forced to be Wesker's servant forever.

"None?"
"I do…" Chris coughed out, catching his enemy off guard. "Don't let me see her." Wesker raised an eyebrow, eying the former STARS. He was slightly, oddly, proud that he'd caught him off-guard. "I don't want to see her like this…she's not Jill anymore. She's not…gorgeous…like she was."

Deciding that he could humor the man, Wesker relaxed his grip on Chris's throat a bit. "Explain that to me, Chris, since this'll be your last chance."

"She was…perfect." He muttered, reaching up and grabbing Wesker's arm. "She didn't need to be changed, and dammit, she didn't need fixing. So if either of you kill me, don't let me see her. Not like this."

Wesker paused, looking back at his forced partner. She was staring at Chris wearily but with no real intelligence. Her eyes were glazed over slightly, waiting for orders. She was a puppet now, and he hated to admit that he could understand where Chris was coming from.

"This is not an act of mercy." Wesker said, gazing at him under the brims of his sunglasses.

"I know." Chris whispered.

He took in a breath and held it, eyes shut as he seemed to sense the air around him. He could feel Wesker pull back his hand, and he could feel the utter hatred the man held for him. But he blocked it all, instead thinking back to Jill's face when they finally escaped from the Arklay Mountains, and how she smiled and leaned on him as they flew away. Her beautiful brown hair, her bright eyes…

He would die, remembering the real her. It was the only consolation he had since she would forever be stuck a puppet. He just hoped that Sheva could either get away, or get a less painful death than him. Or maybe Jill would be free when he died, like some tragic tale-

Wesker's fist went through his chest, and Chris thought no more.

~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~~

/You Are Dead/

Not a happy ending, huh? I didn't originally plan on that, but it kinda works out. Really, don't like happy endings. :3 Thanks for reading and lemme know what you think!

MRIMO