Whatever the feelings between them were, both Sherry and Jake knew that their relationship would never be a traditional one. Truthfully, Sherry had never imagined that she was going to see her partner again after going their separate ways in China; it was clear that Jake would go back to his mercenary work soon after his blood donation, and Sherry would return to her work as an agent (a sizeable amount of work especially after Simmons betrayal). Dealing with the piles of paperwork was torture after being out in the field for so long, even if the mission had turned out being much harder than first anticipated… and Sherry actually found herself missing the action, fighting J'avo back to back with her unlikely comrade, feeling like she was actually making a difference in the fate of the world. Being a hero, like Leon and Claire.

During one of her long, coffee-fueled nights, most of which was spent staring at a blank word document, Sherry pulled out her phone and ended up sending a message to Jake, letting those exact words travel across the world straight from her sleep deprived brain. She hadn't expected anything back, having not spoken to him for about two months now, but right when the government agent decided that the incoming caffeine crash made sleep much more important than her progress report, the jingle of her ringtone immediately snapped her from her stupor with alarm clock-like effectiveness.

With bleary eyes, Sherry read the bright white text on her screen – and started to laugh harder and more sincerely she had in weeks.

"You're starting to sound like even more of an adrenaline junkie than I am, super girl."

They hadn't stopped talking again ever since.

"So what exactly are you trying to get at, Sherry?"

Although she wasn't looking at his face on the screen, Sherry could picture Jake's questioning face, right down to his arched brow. Instead of answering his question, she took a moment to securely fasten the straps of her boots, leaning back on the edge of her bed. Having been called for a new mission that morning, she hadn't even taken the time yet to straighten out the covers, still messy and wrinkled from sleep. "I just thought you'd want to hear about my next assignment since it has to do with, you know… everything that happened." She shrugged, hoping she sounded nonchalant enough. "My job is still mostly an office one, but since I've had experience with the J'avo, they want me to get back out in the field for a little bit."

Now, she reached over to pick up her phone, unable to keep a little smile from curling the corners of her lips. It wasn't often when they got to call each other, both of them being either too busy fighting or working to get a moments rest, so she usually kept in contact with Jake through texts. Whenever the moment did arise, Sherry never missed the chance to call him as soon as possible. She could admit that Jake looked to be a very intimidating person, but having grown to trust him like she did, seeing his familiar face was enough to forget about the stress of her work, even if it was just for an hour or two.

His blue eyes were still as sharp as ever as they examined her expression, but still had a softness in them that, Sherry noticed, only seemed to be reserved for her. "Yeah, yeah, I get that." He waved his gloved hand in a dismissive gesture. "And I'm sure that you're going to kick ass, super girl. But there's still something you're not telling me."

The blonde agent took a deep breath, folding her hands together in her lap. "Am I that easy to read?"

"Like an open book, babe."

Releasing the built up air in her lungs, Sherry lifted the phone from its resting place on her thigh to get a better look at the mercenary. "Well…" She finally relented, pursing her lips. "When I got the call, they also told me that a few other agents were being sent to the area in teams of two, to make the infiltration easier. I was given permission to do the same, which includes being able to choose who my partner is going to be…"

It was a long shot, and Sherry didn't expect Jake to agree. He might care about her, sure, but his life as a soldier of fortune kept him just as busy as her some days. When the details of the mission were given to her, and she noticed how close it would be happening to where Jake currently was, he was the first person that came to mind when it came to deciding on a partner. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but her stomach twisted at the thought of him refusing.

"I know that you've had a lot of work to do to," she found herself backpedaling, "so it's okay if you don't want to, really – "

"I'm in."

Sherry immediately paused, her mouth still open in midsentence. She hadn't been prepared for him to agree so quickly. "...Are you sure? I mean, this is a personal request for hire, I would be the one paying you myself for the work and I'm not sure…"

Scoffing, Jake gave her an exasperated, but fond, grin. "Don't worry about it, Sherry. Really." He insisted, taking note of the concern on Sherry's face. "It's not like you're just another one of my employers. Just consider yourself the exception."

Sherry couldn't help the little thrill of pleasure she felt at his words. "The exception, huh?" She spoke in a sing-song tone, grabbing her bag from the side of her bed and slipping it onto her shoulder before lifting up the phone again. "Are you sure you aren't going to send me a text when I'm back on the plane saying otherwise?"

She expected an equally snarky comeback, but instead there was only a pause. And then Jake broke the silence.

"I owe you more than you think, Sherry."

This caught Sherry off guard, but before she could stop him, he stood. A faint growling sound could be heard in the background, and Jake smirked. "Catch ya later, super girl. Gotta couple of visitors I need to take care of."

"Jake wait, you can't just – "

"Let me know when you land!" With that, his face vanished from the screen, 'CALL ENDED' quietly flashing back at her bewildered face.

There was blood on the tips of Sherry's fingers. She tried to ignore it, tried to focus on wrapping the gauze that she had brought with her around the wounded arm, but a wince made her shaky hands lose their grip again. "Jake, you have to hold still!" She didn't mean to be so sharp, but her nerves were still running high and there was no chance of them going away anytime soon.

Jake grimaced, shifting his arm to give Sherry more room to work. "It's a little easier to say that when you aren't the one who got shot and just dug a bullet out of their body, you know."

Picking up the now dusty white bandages once more, Sherry didn't look at him. She couldn't. "…You didn't have to be hurt in the first place." She mumbled, brushing off the dirt from the formerly pristine white material.

Jake's shoulders tensed. "Don't bring this up again, super girl. There's no point in saying anything about it now."

"Yes, there is!" She retorted, frustration and irritation simmering to the surface. "Dammit, Jake! I know that sniper was pointing at me, but you know full well about my condition. I could have taken that bullet, and you know it. Instead, you decided to play the hero and could have been killed!"

Sherry hated fighting with Jake like this, but everything just kept replaying in her mind, over and over again. The ringing crack of the sniper's rifle, the sensation of being heaved to the side by a strong shoulder, blood splattering on the ground around her feet…

"So you would have rather I took the chance and let that sniper shoot you in the heart because you think you're fucking invincible." Jake snapped, answering back with the same ire. "There is no way in hell that I'd give anyone that chance."

In truth, Sherry didn't know how far the virus in her body would be able to go in the event of a severely fatal injury. It was lucky enough she was able to survive the plane crash, and that had caused her immense pain… but she lived. And she didn't want Jake to die simply out of fear that the virus wouldn't be able to handle the same wound.

She didn't know what she would do if that ever happened.

Her vision blurred, and she rubbed fiercely at her eyes to hold back the forming tears. "You don't get it!" She turned her face up to glare at him, although she was quickly losing the will to argue any further. "Don't you know… don't you know how I would feel if you ended up dying for my sake?" Her shoulders fell, and she let the bandages roll out of her grasp.

The words hung in the air for a moment before Jake frowned back at her. "When we were on the run in Edonia and China being chased by those mutated freaks, you never reacted like this. I shielded you from an exploding plane turbine, for Christ's sake! If anything, I was more likely to die from that than just a little bullet."

"But everything was different back then!"

"How was it different?!"

Sherry's whole body was shaking now. "Because… Because… I'm not going to watch another person that I love die because of me!" It was the first time she had ever used the word 'love' to describe how she felt about Jake, but the words came so easily it was as if she had spoken them her whole life. Her chest tightened. "Not again."

The feeling was mutual; she could see it in Jake's expression as they sat in tense silence. They both knew about each other's pasts enough to know that they would die if it were to repeat itself again. It was why Jake had done what he did, and why Sherry was so angry about his impulsiveness. They were like halves of an unlikely whole… if one was lost, the other would never be the same.

Breaking eye contact, Jake turned to the roll of gauze on the ground, reaching down to scoop it into the hand of his uninjured arm. "I'm not going to stop trying to keep you safe, you know." He placed the bandages back into Sherry's hand, letting it linger as he spoke. "I get it, super girl, you have your insane regeneration power, and you probably don't need me to. But I don't care."

Sherry's fingers wrapped around the roll, their tips just brushing the back of Jake's hand. "Jake…"

"I don't care, because you saved me." Those three words brought Sherry right back to the first time he spoke them, on a breathless cargo lift ride only inches away from deadly flames. She knew she would never forget it. "You're worth risking death for, super girl, but I'm not just going to throw myself into everything headfirst to make that happen. Have some faith in me, at least."

Sherry couldn't keep from laughing at the tone he took on. "Well, somebody has to keep you in check."

"And that means you're stuck with me." Jake smirked, holding his arm back out for Sherry to continue tending to. "Not like I mind that. Any excuse to have you around is fine with me."

"Even if it involves digging bullets out of your arm?" She teased, going back to work.

Jake grimaced as she tightened the bandage, although his grin remained. "A little excitement never hurt anyone. Well, at least not too badly."

Ripping the gauze, Sherry started to sit back to examine her handiwork, but stopped herself. Before she could think twice about it, she let herself fall into Jake's chest, her arms slipping around his back and hugging him tightly. This didn't seem to startle him in the least, if the one hand on her back holding her closer was any sign.

"You'd better stick to your word, Muller." Sherry mumbled into his shirt. "You know I'm not going to forgive you if you die on me."

She felt him bury his nose in her hair, making her smile. "I know. As long as you're here, I'm planning on sticking around."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. Promise."

It wasn't a confession by the book, but it didn't matter to either of them. All that mattered was that they were here, and that they would be there for the years to come.

They didn't need anything else.