Doopleganger

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Rebecca Chambers stared at the clone and shook her head. It was a much better copy than the one they'd worked on of Wesker during the Africa debacle. She sighed deeply and shook her head. 
"This isn't going to work. I don't care how good he looks." She muttered, well aware of the tall man standing in the background. "This is Jill we're talking about. Chris pulled her out of her own virus. There's no way she won't sense something." She groaned again and ran her fingers through her hair, only now remembering she hadn't bothered to have it cut in a long while. "Goddamn it. I could understand him dying in a biochemical outbreak but cancer? Who covers that shit up?!" The headache was there behind her eyes. She needed coffee and sleep. At least coffee. "He's not going to fool anyone. He's too cheerful. Chris was a real son of a bitch there at the end. And what about Claire? She'll smell a rat...oh god....What the hell was I thinking agreeing to this?"

No. He didn't. He didn't have any idea what it was like to worry about someone else. "It's a long story." He said finally, looking over Claire's head at Barry. He didn't know it but he offered the elder man a devil may care grin, one he hadn't had in many years. "She's a Redfield now." He snickered, inclining his head toward Jill. "She'll never get away from me again." 

Rebecca had the idea that these roses were little more than a welcoming present from the gated community. She had never in her life received flowers from anyone. She took the flowers inside put them in water and simply sat them on the table. Once again she noted that this furniture didn't belong to her much like the furniture at the other apartment. The only thing she brought over with her was a suitcase and two boxes. Inside those boxes were the only things she'd kept from her entire life, which she'd always felt had very little meaning. 
She wondered when she'd stopped being that little medic filled with hope to this young woman who had nothing to fight for. She learned to cling to nothing. She learned to love but to never be loved in return. 
She found it odd that she missed Wesker so much. She figured it would be easy to let him go knowing that he probably didn't even notice she was gone.

“Boy, she was yours the moment she walked into that briefing room all those years ago.” Barry replied with a roar of laughter. “You told both teams she was yours, if I recall.”
“Is that so?” Jill asked with a wry grin of her own as she folded her arms across her chest and looked up at her new husband.
“Oh wow, you are so busted!” Claire exclaimed, poking Chris playfully. “I can’t believe you got married and never invited me!”

Rebecca wasn’t quite as alone as she thought. The flowers were indeed beautiful, but the centre blossom was slightly different to the others around it. That middle rose was watching her, transmitting the footage halfway across the globe. Did she really think she was smarter than he was?

Chris looked lost. He had never been in that briefing room. He certainly would threaten any other man that looked at Jill but he didn't remember doing it and Rebecca had never mentioned anything. "We're planning a fancy one but...you know..." He muttered, knowing he sounded strange.

Rebecca remain sitting at the table for what seemed like hours, but in fact it was only around 30 minutes. She was lost in her thoughts not really sure what she wanted to do with herself. Sooner or later she would go and rearrange everything in her room until she was satisfied with the way it looked. But for now she decided to clean the kitchen and make a grilled cheese sandwich. She laughed softly as she got up remembering the first time she'd made a grilled cheese for for Wesker. He told her he'd never had one and looked at her strangely when she brought it to him on the plate and waited expectedly for him to eat it. Albert Wesker had a weakness for grilled cheese. He often blamed it on her.

“I know... you were sparing me the horror of having to find a date to the wedding, right?” Claire asked with a dramatic sigh.

That weakness was in effect as he watched Rebecca. Did it hurt she had ended things without actually telling him? More than he had thought it would. But did that mean he would simply accept it? Of course not. Just like people had said of Chris and his obsession with Jill, Albert Wesker wouldn’t allow anyone else to call Rebecca Chambers their own.

Chris snorted as he patted his sister's head. "More like, I'm running out of places to hide all the bodies. And Jill would be mad if I got my suit dirty." He hugged his sister again and then playfully pushed her at his new wife. Turning to Barry he patted the older man roughly on the shoulder. "So when's this beer and barbecue that Jill's told me so much about? And how many people are we talking about for this party? I don't want a whole lot of people trying to steal my beer." He teased. 

Rebecca made herself a grilled cheese but didn't have time to eat it as her phone rang. She left it sitting in full view of the camera as she moved over to answer the call. "Piers, it's good to hear your voice. Yeah I just got moved in... I mean if you want to come over sure... It's been a long time yeah... I'd like to catch up... Be your date to the BBQ? I didn't know people were hooking up for that thing!?" She gave a genuine laugh. "Sure why not? Just don't expect much and you'll be okay."

“Just the inner circle, don’t worry. There will be plenty of space for you to hurt Claire’s date.” Barry teased. “But damn, boy, it’s good to have you back! I can’t be coping with all these women, and Leon!”

That was the moment the younger man’s fate was sealed. He would take Rebecca to the BBQ, but that was only due to logistics. The moment he was able, Wesker would put an end to... whatever this was. Rebecca would see; she belonged to him.

Chris looked confused at the name Leon. That one had slipped his mind completely. To make it worse he made no comment about the other women.

It probably didn't help things when Rebecca opened the door and the young soldier kissed her. She gave him a tight hug and ushered him in, laughing when he produced a single daisy for her.

“Come on!” Claire had taken her brothers arm and was pulling them in the direction of Barry’s car. “I can’t wait to get you home! Everything is just how you left it, I promise Jill didn’t even move your porn!” She added, simply to annoy him, as she always had.

“You know, I should be pretty offended you didn’t even wait for me to help you move...” Piers commented once he was inside. Of course he. Priced the giant bouquet of roses, and glanced over at the sad little daisy he had picked from the garden outside. “Little girl like you... all that heavy lifting...” He added, only because he was well aware she had had little to move.

"Wait? What?" Chris cried, now chasing his sister through the parking lot. He had a feeling this was like the old days. The way these people were laughing, the real Chris hadn't been himself in a long time.

Rebecca gave the daisy it's own little place on the table. She say it in front of the roses and made a face at Piers. "You're just jealous." She purred, pretending to flew her biceps.

That much was painfully true. Jill wasn’t the only one to have been on the receiving end of Christmas temper right before his ‘disappearance’. Claire hasn’t been to visit in a long time, and it was something that had eaten away at her while he was missing. She saw this as her chance to make up for the past.

Piers grinned and slid his fingers along Rebecca’s narrow waist and down to her slender hips before pulling her tight against him. “Jealous you worked up a sweat solo.” He told her with a devil may care grin that could easily have been a younger Chris Redfield.

Chris finally caught his little sister, tickling her without mercy. "Say it!" He shouted, not totally sure what she was supposed to say. "Do it before you regret it!" 

Oddly enough this did nothing for her, though she wasn't about to let him know. Rebecca patted Piers chest and wrinkled her nose. "Not my fault you can't handle me." She breathed. "Not many men can."

“Okay, okay!” Claire gasped even as she tried to wriggle free. “Claire is king and Chris can suck it!” She added just as she managed to get free.
Jill didn’t even try to hide the easy smile she wore as she watched them. There was no keeping up with either of them, and that’s what worried her. Would she one day be left behind? Was Claire ever going to settle down?

“Can’t say I’d want them to...” Piers breathed, grinning again before finally letting his hands slide away. He knew a Rebecca would never be his. Whatever this was they had.:: it meant far less to her than it did to him.

Chris ground loudly and fell down dramatically on the asphalt. Even as he laid there he couldn't help but grin he love this life. He was glad the old Chris was gone, if he wasn't he was afraid he would have to fight him for this. He had to wonder what else was in store for him...

Rebecca stood on tiptoe and kissed piers on the cheek. "Do we really have to go to the barbecue? I mean I can see Chris and his family anytime."

Claire was quick to dive on her big brother and pull him into a headlock. “Now you say it!” She declared.
“Claire... seriously?” Hill asked with a snort of laughter. “You sure you don’t want to at least wait before you humiliate him?”

“Becca... Claire would kill me if you’re not there. I don’t mean that figuratively either, you’ve seen how she fights, right?” Piers teased.

"Claire loves Leon!" He ground out, not sure where that had come from. "Almost as much as she does anime porn!"

Rebecca groaned. "You could go. Tell them I have jet lag. Or...don't say anything. I'll bet you no one even notices."

“I do not share your love of giant cartoon boobs!” Claire declares, obviously not protesting her feelings for Leon however.
“Uh oh.:: this could get ugly...” Barry mused from his spectator spot beside Jill.

“You really think Claire isn’t going to miss her best friend?” Piers snorted. “come on, it’s could be fun. I’ve heard Chris talk about these legendary team parties.”

"You lie!" Chris laughed. "I've seen you're computer. But maybe you're right... Leon told me about the game you guys play. You know, the one where he dresses up like a ninja and kidnaps you?"

Rebecca snorted. She did remember those legendary parties. Wesker hated them. She remembered sitting in his car driving home afterwards asking him asking him a myriad of questions about things that were far over her head. He would mutter under his breath about how he was going to kill Chris and the rest of the Stars group for their foul language and promised to show her what they were talking about at some point. 
She found herself chewing on her lower lip as the memories turned to the nights when he did indeed teach her what they were talking about.

The sudden pink flush to Claire’s smooth cheeks betrayed the fact that she and Leon had indeed indulged in something very similar to what Chris described. “For your information, he’s the one who likes to be kidnapped.” She snarked back, poking out her tongue.
Jill presses a hand to her face and groaned. “I do not need to hear about the sexcapades of boyscout and Redfield Jr!” She declared, unable to remove the mental image the two of them had just created.

“Hey, you okay?” Poets saw that far off look in Rebecca’s eyes and laid a hand gently on her shoulder. “Alright, how about we say you win? We can stay here, order pizza and have a party of our own?” Clearly he would do anything to spend time with this woman.

Chris was not letting Claire live down that admission. The entire BBQ was well aware that Leon liked to be the damsel in distress. Currently Barry and Chris were yet again laughing about it, snorting so hard their faces were red. So far it seemed the elder Redfield was avoiding a memory issue all together.
Rebecca and Piers arrived not long after things got started. The  tinywoman looked uncomfortable. For some odd reason she kept looking toward the gate in the Redfield's backyard as if she expected someone to show up.

Claire was loving to hear her brother laugh, even if it was at the expense of herself and Leon. “It was a welcome change from the surly beast he had been up until his disappearance. “So..: when will I be hearing the tiny litter patter of Redfield paws?” She finally asked, bumping her brother with her hip.
“Are we boring you?” Jill asked Rebecca with a smirk when she found her hiding out with Piers.

Chris almost instantly lost his smile. The man with the yellow eyes had told him why he and Jill would never have children but he couldn't remember why. This was probably for the best but he was sure it wouldn't make Jill happy. 
Not knowing what to say to this, he just didn't say anything at all.

"You know I'm no good at these things." Rebecca said softly, holding her beer which had gone warm.

Claire looked somewhat panicked when she realised she had caused that awful look on her brother’s face. “So, Piers and Rebecca, huh? Who saw that coming?” She asked quickly, hoping to get his mind off what she had just brought up.

“Right, no evil captain to tell you I’m corrupting you this time, huh?” Jill teased, swapping n out Rebecca’s beer with the ice cold one she had just opened.

"Piers?" Another name he had forgotten. He rubbed the back of his neck, hating that he didn't even know what the guy looked like. 

"Huh?" Rebecca dropped the beer, sighing as it watered the yard. "It wasn't you he said that about. If I remember right he never got past Chris, Forest, and Joseph."

Claire smiles in that sad way Chris would come to know well from various people; it was pity. She understood he had been through a lot. “Oh don’t worry. He’s as much of a stick to his ass soldier as you are, you love him.” She teased.

“And who did you think influenced them?” Jill asked with a playful wink. “Come on, you need to see this. Chris has been telling everyone that Leon dresses up like a princess and has Claire kidnap him!”

Chris stood in front of Piers and stared down at him. For some reason he felt like he was looking into a mirror only it was a younger mirror. And strangely he felt like he had seen the young man before... in the yellow-eyed man's lab. "So...we know each other?" He asked softly, feeling stupid.

Rebecca pulled Jill to a stop. She turned her away from the group and whispered something to her. "I have to tell you the truth. Piers is a rebound. I've been dating a guy named Al for years. I told him I loved him and he never said it back. So I left. I feel like I did the wrong thing... I hate myself."

Piers grinned up at Chris, a different grin to the one Rebecca saw. This man clearly idolised the elder soldier in front of him. “You could say that.” He told Chris. “You trained me, and warned me to stay away from your sister.” He added with another grin. “Even when I told you not to worry, I’m not into girls who can kick my ass.”

Jill hesitated somewhat, that feeling returning in the pit of her stomach, the same one she had when she had first spoken to Chris in the Edonian bar. “Becky, what you did wasn’t wrong, and as for rebound... that’s not wrong either. Your guy... Al, sounds like he treated you like shit if he ignored your feelings. So what if your rebounding with Piers? Not to sound cruel, but your my family. I care about what is good for you, not Piers, no matter how much of an adorable little puppy he is.”

"Just how much time have you spent with Becky? She's a little tyrant." Chris laughed, not realizing this was something the captain had always said. He'd heard the man with the yellow eyes say it. He'd seen her fight with him. He knew it was true.

Rebecca shook her head. "I mean, he took care of me... We lived together. It's not like he owed me an expression of love just because I spouted it every time I saw him. He didn't have that kind of personality maybe I'm being too hard on it maybe maybe I should go back and apologize. It's me and the wrong..." She went on nervously, pulling at her fingers.

“I think you have her confused with someone else, Captain.” Piers responded, not knowing the meaning behind that name. “Becky is too good for someone like me. That’s the simple truth.” He added, his smile faltering for a moment.

Jill was quick to close her fingers over Rebecca’s and squeeze them gently. “Taking care of you doesn’t make him worthy of you, trust me, I know.” She breathed. “You deserve so much more than some asshole who makes you feel less than worthy.”

Chris laughed, slapping Piers' shoulders. "Yeah. I know that feeling. The woman I'm with is way too good for me. We should drink beer until we think we are and forget it for a bit." He chuckled.

"I miss him." Rebecca confessed. "I've been with him so long I don't know how to live without him."

Piers allowed Chris to steer him in the direction of the beer, wondering why the other man hadn’t asked about their team. In all honesty, if Chris truly did have amnesia, Piers didn’t want to be the one they remind him they had lost their team mates. He didn’t want Chris to have to go through that again.

Jill sighed softly and nodded in understanding. “I hear that...” She murmured. If only she knew who it was she was comparing Chris to in that moment. “About about we leave the guys to it, and You, Claire and I just pig out on nachos?”