Thicker than Water

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Alex Chambers stood on the helicopter landing pad his fingers pressed to his forehead to block out the morning sun. He was dancing from one foot to the other, unable to hide his excitement.
"I see them!" He shouted back to his mother, who was standing near the entrance with a medical team. None of them knew what kind of shape their heroes would return to them in but Alex didn't seem to care. Already he was hopping up and down waving at the chopper as it drew closer. He cheered when Chris Redfield waved to him and repeated the action when Jill Valentine did the same. But as the helicopter touched down his smile began to fade. Not everyone he'd hoped to see was stepping out.
"What happened?" Rebecca Chambers soon came to stand beside her son, her lips set in a thin line as she looked from Chris to Jill. "Where is Parker?" She'd done her best to keep herself from saying this man's name first but she couldn't seem to help herself. "Where's Jessica?" She added, hoping this would make for a decent cover up.

"No. We have to figure out a connection first and I think he said something to Rebecca or he wouldn't have left her alive." Chris muttered, pulling Jill back into her seat as he grasped at thoughts.

His mother shook his head. "These two have been nothing but heartache and misery for you! I wish to god you'd never laid eyes on her!"

"Or she was a message?" Jill replied. "Aerent you the one Wesker gets all hot for?" She added with a tiny smirk, simply meaning Chris was always the one who pissed a wesker off.

That was all it took. Parker took a step back, with Alex still in his arms. "Get out of here." He told his mother. "You have no right the speak that way about my family!"

Chris laughed at this. "That's because he's afraid of me. But hey, I can't help it if even the guys want me. I am super sexy, babe. You'll just have to deal with it."

Alex was shaking, his lower lip trembling violently. "I wish I had never been born!" He wailed in Parker's native tongue. "I hate myself. I'm a freak just like the Boogeyman!"

Jill had to laugh slightly. "I know the perfect way of dealing with it." She remarked, reaching out and squeezing his hand.

"Alex, don't you ever let anyone call you that!" Parker told his adopted son firmly. "I love you you just the way you are, okay?"

"Spanking me?" Chris teased quietly, returning the squeeze. "We could find a bathroom you know...an empty patient room?" He purred, leaning over to kiss her neck.

"Mr. Luciani?" A doctor stepped out of the room, the front of his scrubs covered with blood. "Your wife...I need you to come with me. Is there someone who can take your son for a bit?"

Jill couldn't help the grin that spread across her lips. "You enjoy it far too much when I spank you." She breathed, leaning closer to kiss her future husband lightly.

Parker was reluctant. He didn't trust anyone else to take care of Alex, not right now. "We had some friends with us... I think they came to the hospital when they found out about my wife."

"I confess it." Chris chuckled, returning her kiss. "Let's go see if Parker has heard anything yet. Will that make you feel better?"

"No. I will sit here." Alex said softly. "I can find a magazine to read or something." He promised. "I won't talk to strangers or anything."

Jill nodded, and pulled Chris up to his feet. "This must be awful for Alex too..."

"It's strangers talking to you that bothers me." Parker confessed gently. "I'll find Jill, you'll let her sit with you, right?"

"He'll feel better if you're near." Chris agreed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked to where Parker and the doctor stood.
"Whatever." Alex muttered, turning his back on Parker and stalking past Jill. "I'm gonna get a soda first."

"Please... Don't let him out of your sight." Parkerpleaded before allowing the doctor to lead him to where his wife lay.
Jill was watching Alex, worried by how dark he seemed now. "I worry he won't pull through this..." She confessed to Chris quietly.

"Don't think like that." Chris whispered. "He will. When he sees that his mother is all right he'll be just fine." He promised, though he wasn't sure this was the truth. He too could see the way Alex was now carrying himself.

"We can't get her to calm down." The doctor confessed. "Her blood flow is so slow right now that if we give her anything to sedate her it will kill her. She's died once already." He explained, motioning Parker to follow him into the surgical anteroom. "She keeps saying your name. I think you are what she needs."

"We can't make that kind of promise to him, Chris." Jill whispered. "I think we need to find Wesker as soon as Parker gets back."

Parker took hold of Rebecca's small hand, terrified when he felt how cold it was. "Hey, it's usually only you're feet that are this cold." He teased her gently, at a loss for anything else to say.

Alex hid behind the soda machine and grabbed for his cell phone. He needed to talk to Spencer. The old man would be able to tell him the truth. He would tell his true grandfather everything and he would tell him what to do to fix it.

"We have to know what to look first, Jill." Chris told her, surprised that he was now the one trying to talk her out of a rash act. "You're right. We have to go about this the right way."

Rebecca was fighting to swallow as her tiny fingers closed around Parker's. She wanted to tell him to let her go, that she didn't deserve him. But all she could do was whisper, "Stay."

Spencer had been waiting for this call for a very long time. It had taken much of resources to track the boy down in the first place, and even then he hadn't been certain how much time he had left. Or more importantly... If he had the time to groom the boy.

"And what if sitting in our asses gets Alex killed?!" Jill suddenly hissed. "I can thave that on my conscience Chris... I just can't!"

"I promised I would never leave, and I stand by it." Parker whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead lightly. "Alex is safe." He added, not sure if anyone had told her that already.

"Spencer?" Alex's voice was filled with grief. He truly believed his mother was dead. "Can I come with live you?" He asked, beginning to tell him everything that had happened, even about the Boogeyman.

"I don't think Wesker would kill him until he knows if he's good for anything." Chris tried, hoping it was enough to calm her down. "I think he is the safest among us."

Rebecca closed her eyes, two tears sliding down her temples. "Thank...you..." She wheezed. "Wesker...wants him...Don't...let him..." She squeezed his hand as tight as she could, whimpering as the doctor began to work. She could feel everything.

"Child..." Spencer was smiling, his raspy voice practically filled with glee. "I have waited so many days to hear you ask that. Of course you may. If you tell me where you are... I will sent a very good friend of mine to bring you to me."

"Amongst us..." Jill snorted at this and shook her head. "Chris... You saw that photo, he's planning on picking us off, you and I are next!"

"Can't you do something for her?" Parker pleaded ith the doctor, Rebecca's pain as raw as if it were his own.

Alex told him everything down to the coordinates. He was crying earnestly as he hung up the phone. He knew Parker would never forgive him but he couldn't stay. He couldn't look at any of them. They would only remind him of his mother and if he didn't have her then it was all worthless.

"He can't even get rid of Rebecca." Chris said confidently. "We're in the clear, babe." He grinned, pulling her against him and kissing her. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf anyway?"

Jill's sky coloured eyes were filled with doubt as she looked up at Chris, her slender fingers gently threading through his dark hair. "I want you to call Claire." She breathed. "I want her to be here with Alex and Parker when we're gone. She's good with all, you know... The people stuff." She added, proving she hadn't yet given up on the idea that they were hunting Wesker down ASAP. If only she knew that it wasn't to be Wesker they would be hunting.

As Chris and Jill talked, a man was already there to collect Alex. He handed the little boy another cell phone, as instructed to by his employer. Spencer was no fool, he knew Alex's family would have used his old one to track him.

"You're talking like Rebecca is already dead." Chris said with the shake of his head. "No. I'm not calling Claire until I know for sure things are going to turn that way. For now we can take Alex home and get him in bed. This day should be over for him at least."

"I hope this doesn't come back to bite you on the ass." Jill warned, already walking on ahead of Chris to find Alex. A few more months, and those words would haunt Chris.

Rebecca's recovery was much slower than she would have liked. She was angry with the doctors whom she claimed knew absolutely nothing. A month passed at a snail's pace and it was still barely enough time for her wound to heal. Despite this she spent her time at the hospital contacting everyone she could think of who might be able to help her find her son.
The only thing she had to keep her strong was Parker. If she didn't have him she would have fallen apart.

For Chris it was pretty much the opposite. He and Jill spent most of their time hunting down Spencer. He was the last person Alex had called before he disappeared. Though the number was dead, the leads on Spencer were already opening up.

Parker was putting on a brave face for Rebecca's sake. He wished he was the one out there, looking for their son, but even if he was... He couldn't trust himself. He had left Alex with Jill... And had openly told her he blamed her for the boys disappearance.

Jill also blamed herself. She was already pushing herself far too hard, and even strong arming Chris into not telling anyone else she was pregnant. The last thing she needed was for someone Tory and take her off active duty.

It was late one night when Parker's cell phone rang. Rebecca had fallen asleep in his lap on the hospital bed, having worn herself out yet again.
Alex sat on the floor of the phone booth and closed his eyes. He missed Parker so much. He just wanted to hear his voice again.

Chris was feeling rather frustrated that Jill would not allow him to put her on desk duty. He was grumpier than usual to everyone who knew him. Even Jill was getting a rather big dose of his temper. He'd yelled at her at least a dozen times that day alone.

Parker practically snatched his phone out of his pocket, afraid the noise would wake Rebecca. "What?" He hissed down the line, his mood fouler than usual that day.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Jill demanded at last, shoving Chris roughly against a wall as they walked. "I've had nothing but shit from you all day!" She growled, shoving the butt of her gun up under his chin.

"Parker." Alex breathed. He was sure the other man knew it was him even before he'd called. He was certain the tone was because he was angry to hear from him. "I'm sorry I killed her." He whispered, already turning to hang up the phone. "It...was all my fault. I hope...you won't hate me forever."

Chris narrowed his eyes at Jill, ashamed of himself for having his own gun rested against her mid-section. "Put that gun down." He hissed. "I've had enough shit from you too."

"Alex?!" Relief flooded into Parker's voice. "Kiddo... Where are you? You're mom and I are so worried about you!"

Jill's glanced down just long enough to see the gun pressed to her midsection, though didn't pull her own weapon away from Chris' chin. "My shit!? You're the one yelling at me for walling too loud, for taking too long picking a lock... For carrying my knife in my boot instead of in my belt!"

"Mom?" Alex breathed, his heart thundering in his chest. "She's alive? Wesker didn't kill her? Let me talk to her...I just want to hear her voice."

"You're the one who won't listen when I tell you that you are not going with me to find Alex." Chris growled angrily. She had to know he would never fire the gun, much less on their child.

"Alex, just tell me who took you!" Parker insisted. "Then you can see your mom and me again real soon. Please, son... I miss you."

"Who died and put you in charge?" Jill hissed. "God, Chris! I didn't want to tell you about the baby because knew this was exactly what would happen!"

"No one took me. I went on my own. I'm okay, Dad. Spencer...see...he's teaching me all these cool things. Things that I need to know to make things better. I can be strong. I didn't even know. You...I think you would be proud. He told me since it's my birthday I could call you. But...he's waiting for me so I have to go. But...I miss you too and...I love you. Make sure mom knows that too. Okay?"

"And it's exactly what should happen!" Chris roared, his temper teetering on the edge. "I don't want anything happening to you or the baby! Why is that hard for you to grasp?!"

"O alexa, I won't tell her a thing!" Parker hissed. "Not until you tell em where you are, so I can bring you home!"

"Why is it so hard for you to grasp that I am pregnant, not handicapped!" Jill shot back.