The bonds of family

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Claire Redfield was sat at her desk, chewing on her pen as she stared at the faded photo in a battered frame. She had just gotten back from Rio on business and she had already thrown herself into another case. The photo she kept safe was taken such a long time ago, Sherry was still just a little girl in it, and Leon... Well he was no different. They had all been so happy when they made it out of Raccoon City, despite everything that had happened. It was years later and Claire still sometimes woke with nightmares of that place, and her time spent at Rockfort Island. She had barely spoken of it to Leon when she had made it home, but she figured Chris probably told him everything anyway. That was when she had drifted apart from the people she called family. They all seemed to have their mission and she had always just been 'Chris Redfield's baby sister'. Claire was much like her brother, in the aspect that she just wanted to help people. A shame Chris thought she was still that nineteen year old student. They still spoke on the phone often, had dinner together at the holidays, but pinning big brother down long enough for anything more seemed harder work than finding all traces of Umbrella and making them disappear for good. The young woman shook her head to try and clear the melancholy away, then pushed the dark red hair from her eyes. "Come on Claire..." She scolded herself, laughing quietly when she thought of the fun her friends had made in the past when she talked to herself.

"And who's fault is it that he hurts at all, Rebecca?" Parker asked curtly. "He caused his own misery when he walked away!"

"No, don't thank me... Really." Wesker purred, though didn't elaborate before hanging up the phone. "We're going to get your broken bones fixed." He informed Ramona, making it clear he had known about it all along.

Rebecca frowned ever so slightly. It didn't take an idiot to prove that Parker had been talking to Jill on his own. It was a sore spot for them as well. She said nothing more, turning her head. "Just leave it alone...we've all done things we are not proud of." She said softly. 
Chris gave a heavy sigh and shook his head. "I didn't cheat with Jessica. Don't start puffing your chest out like you won a fight you fat ass bastard." 

Ramona simply nodded, her pain getting the better of her. It was because of this that she missed Wesker's snake like smile. If she had seen it she'd have asked a few more questions.

Parker then joined the rest of the men, in the sense that he hit Chris too. The Italian man then muttered something about finding a coffee machine.
"Well, don't you just make friends wherever you go?" Jake sneered as he glared at Chris. He hadn't been able to find Sherry, and that bothered him.

Wesker corrected their course and set them cruising right to Chris and Rebecca's location. He had to hand it to the little medic, she had certainly been sneakier than he remembered.

Parker's hit was harder than he remembered. But it was enough to bring Chris back to his senses. He slid to the floor, nodding at Jake. He wiped blood off his nose, watching Rebecca trot after Parker. "I'm good at making friends...wouldn't you say?" He muttered, coughing when more blood got caught in his nose. 

Ramona was barely conscious when the emergency staff got their hands on her. She'd lapsed in taking any of her medications and her pain was far too high now to get under control. Even touching her to move her made her scream in pain. It was something that she never did. She was far too proud to do.

A nurse had heard all the fighting, and came along carrying some gauze and an ice pack. "You must love her very much to be so willing to piss all these people off, just so they would leave." She whispered just loud enough for the two of them to hear as she wiped the blood away and held the ice pack to Chris' nose.

Wesker was barking orders as they went, telling them that there had been an explosion at the lab where Ramona worked, that was what had caused the injuries. He didn't need pointless questions right then.

Chris laughed softly. "I wanted to be her hero." He admitted. "But...I guess I'm not good enough for that anymore. Not that I really deserve to be." He took the ice pack held it to his nose himself. "Thanks. I'm really making an ass of myself aren't I? Jill is never going to take me back now." 

Wesker's group passed by the alcove where Parker and Rebecca were sitting. Somehow the newly weds never saw them. The doctors told Wesker to wait and disappeared with Ramona in a surgical room, the lot of them looking extremely grim.

"I think that's something you should ask her yourself, they just brought her out of surgery." The nurse told Chris with a gentle smile. "If you want her to take you back, cut the bravado. Be the man you are, not who it is you think she needs, and for the love of god please stop telling everyone she's a whore!" She added, swatting his shoulder lightly, still smiling.

Wesker wasn't accustomed to this. To waiting. Everything was always done on his time by his rules. To be here now, without information or even a clue left him feeling entirely too ordinary.
"Rebecca, really... How many times must we have the same argument? There was never anything between Jill and myself!" Parker could be heard pleading. "She was my partner, and just for that one mission!"

Chris nearly knocked the nurse over getting to his feet. "Can you do me a favor? Don't tell anyone else she's out yet. Okay?" He pleaded, not waiting to hear her response as he headed back to the surgical unit. He too passed Wesker without barely the slightest recognition. He stopped for a brief moment, his senses screaming. Then, thinking it was simply Jake he continued on. 

Rebecca nodded, not looking at Parker. "Yeah. And that's why she still calls you every time she's feeling down. Because you guys were one time partners. Sure. Barry Burton does that too." She pulled her legs up into her chair and rested her chin on her knees, never suspecting they were being watched.

The nurse let out a quiet sigh, and got back to her feet with the bloodied gauze and used ice pack. She had been watching all these people arguing and fighting, always talking about Jill. She felt sorry for the other woman who had died to save Jill's life.

Parker growled quietly and ran his fingers through his hair. "So you want me to tell Jill we can't be friends anymore because my wife is convinced the two of us think of nothing but screwing around everytime we talk?!"

"Hey...I heard you say Jill is out of surgery but what about Claire Redfield?" Leon asked. He'd been standing away from all the fighting, knowing that Claire would like him to try and keep his cool about things as best he could. He waited until Chris was out of earshot to approach the woman, worried that Chris might get upset at his asking. He just didn't understand Chris anymore. 

Rebecca gave him a dark look and waved him away. "Isn't it time for you to fill your lungs with more cancer or something like that?" She snapped, turning her head away from him. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. We'll only end up mad at each other."

The nurse spun around, having not seen Leon approach. "Uhm..." She looked a little panicked, clearly having never had to tell a loved one that their family member had passed. "Sir... I... I'm afraid Claire died during surgery, the doctors couldn't revive her."

"Yeah, wouldn't want me to think you were still pining away for Billy, now would you?" Parker growled.

"No." Leon's face fell and he lost his will to even stand up. "No...Please..." He stumbled for a chair and simply sat down, trying hard to catch his breath. "It was a simple surgery. The doctor said she'd be fine. What...What happened?" He was all but sobbing now. The normally strong and stoic man was broken for the first time in his life. 

Rebecca surged to her feet, giving Parker a hateful glare before stomping out of the room. It seemed that he knew exactly how to end the argument and end it effectively. 
The infection that was spreading through the hospital seemed far nastier and deadlier than the one that had spread through Raccoon City.

"They don't know what happened, it was like she just... left." The nurse breathed, for lack of a better word. "Her vitals were strong, everything was perfect, then all of a sudden she flatlined and it was over." She hated to be the one to give this news, especially to a man who looked like he already carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Parker growled loudly, and punched the wall next to him. They had had this argument a hundred times before. No one won, it just caused much pain.

Leon broke at her words. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed openly. He couldn't help it. He'd been so close to having everything he'd ever truly wanted and suddenly it was gone. It was all gone. Sherry appeared and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his back and crying as well. 

Rebecca walked out to the ambulance bay, breathing in the fresh air. She should never have told Parker about Billy. She should have kept that stupid teenage mistake to herself.

This nurse had no idea what Claire had already survived, what they all had. It just seemed so painfully unfair to die on an operating table, when her brother should have been the one to be there. She left Leon and Sherry to console each other, unaware that Claire's body was no longer even in the hospital.

"You running?" Jake asked, tossing his burnt out cigarette to the ground from where he leaned lazily against the wall. He had been through that hospital twice, and still hadn't found Sherry.

Leon had never wanted to die before but now he was considering just that. He was thinking of the gun against his hip and how easy it would be to put it against his forehead. He would follow Claire wherever she went. Hadn't he promised her that?

"No. I just had to get some air. I always do that when I'm mad." Rebecca said, frowning at the cigarette. "You know you're going to die from cancer if you keep smoking those, kid." She informed him, unaware that it was his mother she'd injected with cancer ironically.

Thin heels could be heard clicking against the sterile tiles, the faint scent of jasmine accompanying the sound. A quick glance, and it almost seemed like a red dress was rounding the corner and then it was gone.
"Leon?" Parker had assumed Rebecca would have come back to the waiting room, instead he found Leon and Sherry sobbing damn near hysterically.

"Funny thing about that? I'd probably have to live twice as long as I'm going to for that to even be a problem." Jake snorted.

Leon sobbered up somewhat at the sight of Parker and Sherry again disappeared. Whatever Chris had done to her had ruined her to others. "I'm okay." Leon whispered, turning his head to look for the little blonde who was no nowhere to be seen. 

"Lucky you, huh?" Rebecca snorted. "Yeah. I'm the one who's been playing around with your blood. I've seen it all in the past few weeks. You're a real marvel. But then again...so was your dad." She ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "I'm sorry everyone has been giving you hell because of who you are. That must suck."

"What's happened?" Parker asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Jake just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really give a crap what anyone else thinks." He told Rebecca in his usual gruff manner.

"Claire is..." Leon couldn't get the words out. If he did they would be true. He would have to face it. "She is..." all his bravado left him and he broke sobbing all over again. 

"Good for you." Rebecca smiled and nodded. "I wish we could all be so brave."

Parker didn't need Leon to say the words. He slumped down into a seat next to the other man and simply stared at the wall. What was he supposed to say?

"So if you're not running, why are you out here when all your hero- type friends are in there?" Jake challenged.

Things we about to get worse. Chris came stomping down the hall, a gun in his hand. His grief looked a lot like Leon's only much more fierce. He didn't say anything as he rested the gun against Leon's forehead, pulling the safety off. 

"I haven't been a hero in a long time." Rebecca whispered, staring out into the darkening sky. "I'm not so sure I belong in there with them."

"Whoa... Chris... Just take a minute here." Parker breathed, slowly getting to his feet so as not to startle Chris into doing something stupid. "You want to explain to me why Leon has a gun pressed to his head?"

Jake snorted again and followed Rebecca's gaze. "You ain't alone there, lady." He replied.

Chris turned his head, his usually bright blue eyes dark and angry. "Do you want to die too, fat boy?" He snarled. "Go to hell and mind your own damn business for once!"

Rebecca gave a shaky sigh, wishing she could confess a sin that had been eating her alive for years. But she couldnt. No one could ever know what she had done.

That was all it took for Parker to draw his own weapon on Chris. "Shoot him, and Jill is never taking your sorry ass back." He warned.

"You see Sherry, tell her I'm looking for her?" Jake requested as he shoved away from the wall to head back indoors.

"Wouldn't you like that." Chris growled, his hand shaking. Leon didn't move, it was like he was begging the other man to end him. "What would Rebecca say?"

"Sure." Rebecca said, pulling her open her purse and fishing out Parker's cigarettes. She lit one and took a deep drag, hee fingers shaking.

"She would hate me, we both know she's never gotten over her hero." Parker sneered. "A risk I'm willing to take it it keeps you from destroying more lives!"

"You're all fucking hypocrites." Jake snorted with a shake of his head. "Those thing'll kill ya." He added before disappearing indoors.

"He killed my sister!" Chris roared, shoving the gun so hard against Leon's forehead the back of his head hit the wall. "He's the one who agreed to let her do the stupid thing instead of me. She wasn't strong enough! Now I've lost her too!"

As soon as Jake disappeared inside Rebecca let out the lung full of smoke, coughing and gagging on it. She didn't know what Parker saw in them. They tasted awful.

"This never would have happened if you hadn't left Jill alone out there watching your ass!" Parker growled. "She was shot because you weren't there to protect her like you always promised, you were the weak one, not Claire!"

"Well now, isn't this a sight." A familiar voice purred from behind Rebecca as she gagged. "The perfect little mouse choking on a cigarette." Wesker was in the doorway, smiling it that way that made everyone but Ramona uneasy.

"And you know this because?" Chris asked, finding it highly suspect that Parker would know something that Jill alone should have known. He turned his gun on the other man. 

Rebecca's stomach dropped and she turned, fumbling for the gun in her purse. "You!" She squeaked, making his mouse statement all the more true. "You're dead!"