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 was leaning against the wall now, breathing heavily. She was trying to keep Claire safe, worry about Chris leaving her in the middle of the night, all while pretending that she wasn't scared to death. Help wasn't something she was generally that good at accepting at the best of times.

"Of course i'll watch out for them." Billy assured his friend firmly. "It's just... What if something happens? Losing the only guy she ever loved ain't something Jill is just going to get over, ya' know?"

Sherry didn't quite leave as she made a show of doing. Instead she stood right where she was and waited for a simple nod from Jill, counting out the heartbeats of the baby with her finger on her arm.

"Look...it's the only way." Chris said firmly. "I have to keep them safe. Knowing he's alive...it puts them in danger. All of tgem. I won't stand for it."

Jill held her keys out to Sherry without looking up, like she was ashamed to be accepting help. "Get Claire..." She breathed, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"And what if something happens to you?" Billy asked again. "You think Wesker wont come and hunt them all down?"

"Claire will be fine on her own." Sherry said, setting down the keys and heading for the hallway. "I'll get your bag. Head out to Jakes car."

"I'm taking him down with me." Chris said firmly. "I have to go. Logan, take care of them and yourself. Okay?"

"I'm not leaving her here all on her own!" Jill insisted. "I don't abandon my family, I'm not Chris!" She hissed, both angry and hurt that he had left without a word.

"I was supposed to keep it a secret... But Jill is definitely having a girl, she wanted to surprise you." Billy breathed, wishing this didn't feel like the final goodbye from his only friend.

"Oh for fucks sake, Jill! You're going to have a baby not move to another country." Sherry snapped in a very uncharacteristic way. "Leave her a note. You think someone would listen to me when I say the life inside them is dying."

Chris laughed softly. He'd wanted nothing more. He wished that he would get the chance to hold his daughter but in order to save her from darkness, he probably never would. "Thanks." He said softly, the word feeling like a goodbye to him as well.

Jill looked at Sherry in horror, only just able to keep herself from striking the other woman. "And what about Claire's baby? What if something happens while im gone? You have no right punishing Claire just because she hurt Leon!"

"You want to name her before you die being her hero?" Billy breathed, still surprised how close he and Chris had gotten. He wanted nothing more than to tell the other Man the truth about everything.

"Look, Claire and Leon burned the bridge with me a long time ago. But you, I'm trying to help the person who actually gave a shit about me. Stop being a pain and let someone help you!"

"And take that away from Jill? Are you nuts? Just try going in there and telling her that Chris wants her to be called Elizabeth so he can nickname her Lizard. Your girlfriend will ask what happened to your balls, man." Chris laughed.

"I want Chris!" Jill blurted before having to simply fall to the ground.
"Shit, never thought I'd hear her confess that out loud." Jake snorted, finally coming to see what was taking Sherry so long. "Come on..." He crouched down and easily lifted Jill's pregnant frame up into his powerful arms. "No biting, okay? Blondie left too many marks already." He added, winking at Sherry.

"I'm gonna tell her anyway." Billy informed Chris. "Then when you come back... She can do the same to you."

Sherry was glad that she couldn't have children. The sight and sound of it was terrible to behold. More than once she nearly passed out simply holding Jill's hand. And to think the elder woman was doing it with no sedative. 

"She's going to need help." Rebecca said from the doorway when Billy hung up the phone. "We should go to the hospital. Jill is...he will know. I can't hide them I'd I'm not there. Come on."

Jill had thought she had endured the worst, that was until now. Everything seemed to pale as her daughter made it known she was ready to greet the world. More than once she grabbed the front of Sherry's shirt and cursed the day she let Chris Redfield even touch her.

Billy was obviously surprised that Rebecca knew everything. "Sorry..." He breathed, rubbing the back of his neck, rather ashamed he had been keeping secrets from her.

Rebecca was the one to deliver the baby. Dressed as a doctor with a mask over her face she held the newest Redfield in her arms until a very familiar man came and took the quiet girl from her.
Chris stared down at his little girl with a brilliant smile, tears sliding down his face. He hadn't been able to go. Wesker could wait. Jill and Lizard couldn't.

Jill was exhausted, but that didn't mean she couldn't hurl abuse at her husband. "You son of a bitch!" she roared, though it wasn't out of real anger, she was drained and venting the emotions she had been feeling right before the birth. Even as she shouted at him, Jill was holding her arms out for their daughter.
Billy was nearby, a hand resting at the small of Rebecca's back. He could tell she didn't want Chris and Jill knowing who she was just then. "I'm glad he did the right thing." He breathed.

Chris laid their daughter in his wife's arms and stepped back. He couldn't tell her but he knew he'd have to leave again soon. "She's beautiful." He whispered. "You did good, Valentine."

Rebecca shook her head, a new darkness filling her. Their baby lived. Of course their baby lived. "Chris always does the right thing." She said bitterly. "Go congratulate them. I'm going to get some coffee and watch for Wesker. He'll be here soon enough."

"You get a little credit." Jill breathed, smiling wearily at Jill before gazing down at their daughter.

Billy's hand dropped away from Rebecca upon hearing her harsh words. "What happened to those kids that brought her in here?" He asked, feeling rather drained himself.

"Claire is going to be jealous. Her monkey won't be near as cute." He teased. "Logan came. I saw him in the hallway but I wanted to wait to show her off until you felt up to it."

"Wesker's son is probably calling him." Rebecca said pointedly, horrified to realize that she was about to cry. "We need guns. This is going to get ugly."

Jill's eyes suddenly filled with panic again. "You need to go!" She suddenly blurted. "I mean, Claire is home alone, what if something happens?" She breathed, always trying to be in contol of everything all at once.

Billy was quick to circle his arms around Rebecca and pull her close. "Nothing is happening." He assured her. "You have a friend who just had a baby, don't you want to talk to her? Rebuild a few bridges?" He asked, all the while unaware that Wesker wasn't on his way to the hospital... He had already gotten to the weakest cell in the Redfield defense; Claire wouldn't be there when they returned home.

"Claire is okay." Chris said gently. "Barry is there with her. He's going to stay until we leave. We've already planned everything. It's going to be okay." 

Rebecca shook her head. "There is nothing to rebuild. I have done my part. That's all I was ever good for."
Sherry passed them and returned to the room, her arms full of flowers and baby gifts. "I found those fruit jammers you wanted."she said cheerfully, feeling useful.

"Leave?" Jill echoed as Sherry entered the room, uncertain of whether the 'we' was herself and Chris, or Chris and Barry.

"Rebecca..." Billy again felt lost and like he had never really gotten Rebecca back after all these years. "Let me take you for something to eat. We can leave Chris and Jill to their own joy for a little while. How does that sound?"

Chris didn't answer. He was instead ruffling the baby's downy soft hair with his rough fingers. It was already clear that she would have him wrapped around her finger.

Rebecca nodded, thinking this idea a good one. Right now she hated herself more than usual. Why had she saved the infant? Why couldn't she just have let it die like her own child?

Jill knew what it meant when Chris avoided giving her an answer to something. "You can't do this." She whispered. "You're either going to be here, or not. I won't have her growing up never knowing if each  time she sees her father actually is the last time!"

"What do you feel like?" Billy asked as he gently took her hand. "Personally I could eat a horse... And a cow... Then my weight in ice cream."

Chris leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead, again not answering her. "I'm sorry I was late." He said softly. "I met Barry at the airport. I thought you'd be able to hold out."

Rebecca frowned at this. It had been a while since shed eaten more than a few tiny bites. She hadn't put any thought into it. For the moment it got her off the thought of a dead infant.

Jill truly wished a kiss from Chris Redfield didn't make her want to forgive anything. "He wasn't busy with his family?" she asked finally.

"Now don't you try and tell me you don't like ice cream!" Billy asked with a horrified gasp.

"I didn't say that but...there's something a bit more important." Chris said crypticly. He frowned at the nurse who shooed him away and urged Jill to feed the tiny girl. "You know that doctor looked really familiar..." he muttered, more to change the subject than anything else. "Where was the old guy anyway?"

Rebecca shook her head. "I never was one for sweets. I've always been afraid of rewarding myself anyway. The price is always too high." She added softly, turning her back on him and heading down the hall. She passed Jake without speaking, daring him to make a move.

"I wouldn't know, I was a little preoccupied." Jill snapped. "Where's Jake?" she asked, directing her gaze to Sherry now.

Jake allowed his eyes to lock with Rebecca's. He want to say something. He wanted to vent all his anger at this woman for the pain she had caused. For once, however, he was a little more mature. For now he was thinking about Sherry rather than himself.

"He's in the hall." Sherry said softly. "He wasn't sure you'd want him in here. He knows how Chris feels. And Rebecca isn't exactly a fan either."

Rebecca paused in front of him, her chest heaving. "You will pay for what you did, Wesker. I don't care how long it takes."

"He was there when I needed him, you both were." Jill breathed. "Get him in here, he's part of the family now." She added, his parentage meaning less than nothing to her.

"So will you." Jake vowed quietly. "I'm going to make them see what a twisted monster you really are, little mouse."

"No." Chris was firm and he shook his head. "Not him. It's enough that she's in here." He added, frowning at the doorway. 

"You just try." Rebecca snarled. "Does Sherry know her hero murdered a man? Executed him just like his father would?"

"If not for Sherry and Jake, our daughter, and possibly even myself would be dead right now!" Jill hissed.

"Better an instant shot to the head than the agonizing and slow death you forced on my mother." Jake countered.
As all this was happening Claire was already sedated and in transit to Wesker's lab. He wanted her 'package', rather badly.

Chris shook his head. "If he's here...damn...I have to go. I'll call you when I get somewhere safe. Okay?" He was already turning to leave, his face set in hard lines. 

"Your mother is a monster like him. She deserved what happened to her." Rebecca said firmly. "And don't tell me you care. She didn't give a shit about you."