The bonds of family

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Claire stared down at her ring, and realised she didn't want to contact Leon. She wanted him far away from Alex and any harm she could do him. "The last thing I remember is being put under for surgery. I don't know how i ended up here, or even how long I've been here." She confessed. Her secret fear, was that Leon would believe her dead.

Parker shook his head and rose to his feet. "I don't the help of some lovesick children!" He sneered. "I'll find Rebecca myself!"

Jill nodded in agreement. "I saw the way Claire was looking at Leon before he left. Even without her memory she's in love with him." She breathed. With a heavy sigh she rose up to her feet and pulled Chris up with her. "I thought things were supposed to get easier." She breathed, sliding her arms around him and burying her face against his chest.

Billy continued to hold Rebecca even after her sobs had ceased. He was the cause of all of this, and hadn't stopped blaming himself once all these years. "Will you let me take you home now?" He asked softly.

Chris stroked his fingers through his wife's hair and sighed heavily. "Maybe Logan will impress Claire and we won't have to worry about Loen anymore." He teased, kissing her forehead.

"There's no such thing as home. I can't remember the last time there was a place like that." Rebecca whispered, shaking her head.

Jill tilted her head back to look up at Chris and smiled sadly. "Sorry to break it to you, but I don't think Claire is his type. I don't think he'd know what to do with someone who could kick his ass." She teased.

"You would like home." Billy continued. "Chris and Jill are there, but..." He laughed quietly and shook his head. "They have no idea who I am. They think my name is Logan. I couldn't believe it when they moved into such a sleepy little town."

"He liked you." Chris chuckled, bending his head to kiss the swell of her belly. "And you could have done some serious damage. That's hot. We should go upstairs while she's asleep."

"Glad you find it funny." Rebecca growled, shaking her head. "I'm not going anywhere near Chris and Jill. They have disaster written all over them. I've had my share of it."

Jill smiled and poking her husband gently in the ribs. "I think you have mistaken politeness for attraction." She teased.

"It's okay, I can find us someplace new." Billy assured Rebecca, trying not to sound so disappointed. It was a sad truth that Chris Redfield had been his only friend.

"Oh that's so cold." Chris pretended to have his feelings hurt. He pulled away from Jill with a pout and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm going to bed."

"No. Go wherever you want. It doesn't matter. You'll die no matter what you do as long as you're near me." Rebecca whispered.

"Without pizza? I don't think so." Jill purred, knowing her husband all too well.

Billy shook his hand in disagreement. "I've had a lot of time alone, Becca. It's no way to live, it's not even living. Wouldn't you rather die happy, if you had to?"

Six months passed in a blur for Chris. In between working with Claire to regain her memory, he was actively looking for Leon, and trying hard to prepare his home for his new child. Jill hadn't said so but he was sure it was a girl. there was now less than two weeks until the due date. 
That night he and Logan were sprawled on the nursery room floor, laughing hysterically over their inability to put a crib together. It was something both men needed. Logan seemed strangely quiet and distant lately, as if he were suddenly hiding something. Truthfully that worried Chris just a little.

Rebecca had done well in the small secluded town though she rarely left the home she now shared with Billy. She kept to herself for the most part, taking a morning walk when the sun was barely up just to get herself outside for a bit. Her depression was deep and terrifying. It wasn't something so easily lost.

Jill had been spending a lot of time with Claire too. It was nice that the younger woman no longer had the darkness in her eyes the rest of them did, but at the same time Jill knew Claire had such wonderful memories she had lost too. Even after all these months, the young woman would ask what happened to the 'cute cop' that had been at the hospital.

Billy was finding it hard to keep such a massive secret from his only friend. He had seen how much Rebecca disliked Chris and Jill, and thought it best to keep the married couple in the dark about his 'new girlfriend'. He was trying to give Rebecca the life she deserved, but it was hard when some days it seemed like she simply wished for death.

Chris handed Logan a beer, still grinning as they walked into the living room. "You know my sister is having a baby. It's a package family. You'd like her. Seriously." he added. "You could be a husband and a father practically in one sitting."

Logan smiled in that polite way Jill had told Chris about and took the beer. "No offense, but your sister doesn't seem like my type." He remarked. "She seems to have the hots for some guy she met at the hospital anyway, Leon, I think."

"Leon doesn't exist." Chris said quickly, frowning. "And besides, you just need to come over more often. You'd like Claire. She's funny and...you know...all that other stuff." Chris laughed sheepishly. He was talking about his sister after all. "Come on, man. Give her a try. She likes motorcycles and she is great at fishing and hunting. I'll bet her son wI'll be too."

"What good will I be if she does all that, you know... boy stuff? I like my women to need me." Billy laughed, though it was more nervously than anything, he didn't want to offend Chris by simply outright saying he wasn't attracted to his baby sister.

"Isn't that why you're supposed to be good in bed?" Chris countered. "Come on.she'd be perfect for you. You haven't gone on a single date with her. Not even giving her a chance. Not cool, man."

Logan sighed heavily and shook his head. "Sorry, man, I can't. Taking on a pregnant, amnesiac woman? That's not something I can do." He told Chris. "I screw up at the best of times, I wont do that to someone already as vulnerable as she is."

Chris sighed heavily and shrugged. "Yeah. Jill said you told Henry Bateman you had a girlfriend anyway." He muttered, pretending to be wounded. "Which hurts feelings that you didn't tell me about her. I thought we were best friends." The word was huge coming from Chris. He'd never claimed one of those. Aside from Jill he'd never gotten that close to anyone.

Logan was just as surprised to hear Chris say this too. It quickly passed and he smiled sheepishly. "It's early... I don't wanna jinx anything, ya' know?" He laughed.

"Chris Redfield is not a jinx." The man muttered, pretending to have his feelings hurt deeply. "Give me that beer. I can't share beer with someone who won't at least share a picture of his new girlfriend."

"Oh no, you think I'm gonna let you start picturing her instead of Jill?" Logan teased, holding the beer out of Chris' reach. "I know you only like the beautiful ones... and man, is she perfect!" His smile was genuine now, thinking about his Rebecca.

Chris recognized the smile. He couldn't help wearing one of his own at the mere thought of a picture of Jill he had in his wallet.  "So? When are you guys coming for dinner? Tomorrow is good. Claire is craving steak so I'm grilling out. How does that sound? Can't jinx it with Jill around. She's a good luck charm. Trust me."

Logan shook his head. "I'm not ready to share her with anyone just yet." He breathed. "You never had that with Jill? Not wanting to share her with the world?"

"Never been an option for me." Chris said softly, closing his eyes as he was once again reminded of Wesker taking the hood off Jill and hissing her name. "Jill is...not the kind to hide away. You can't keep something like her hidden for long." He finished in a soft whisper, still lost in the terrible memory.

"You're never going to tell me what happened, are you?" Logan breathed, having become accustomed to the look that Chris wore right then.

Oddly enough, Chris did tell his friend. The two of them sat out on the porch and talked until late in the evening. For the first time, Chris told someone else of the hell he and Jill and even Rebecca had gone through.

Logan sat and listened, knowing how much Chris had needed to get all this off his chest. Despite this, he still couldn't tell him the truth about his own past. He couldn't risk upsetting Rebecca. "That's more than any man should have to survive." He told his friend quietly. "You're a tough son of a bitch, Redfield."

"Not tough enough." Chris whispered. "If I was, all the people I cared about wouldn't he dead and Jill...never would have had to suffer at the hands of that monster. His death isn't good enough. It never was."

"I think you're missing the bigger picture here." Logan breathed. "You got her back, you're about to have a family together. Doesn't that make it all better?" He added.

"I still worry. There are still monsters out there." Chris admitted. "Albert Wesker maybe dead but...he had a hell of a reach. Even from the grave."

Logan was rather quiet, taking an interest in his beer. He couldn't tell Chris the truth, that he had seen the man himself when he had rescued Rebecca. Albert Wesker was very much alive, and the news alone could shatter the life Chris had made for his family here. "Well, good thing you're the bad ass super hero, huh?"

"Yeah. No." Chris shook his head. "It's been Jill the whole time. I think I've just been living in her shadow all these years and you know... I'm okay with that." he laughed softly. "Just....don't ever tell her I said so."