Between One Moment and the Next by patricia51

(On the bridge of the Arcadia Alice reflects for an instant on the feelings that have risen between herself and Claire. Femslash. Alice/Claire.)

"So what now?" Chris asked.

I punch the button that starts the prerecorded broadcast used to lure survivors into Umbrella's clutches. Thank God that's over and we have found K-Mart and the others from the convoy, all alive and well. I shut it off.

"I say," I pick up the radio mike to talk.

Blue eyes, bluer than the bluest sky meet mine, framed among the red locks that fall on the sides of her face. The depths of those eyes hold hope, hold promise, holds memories that flash between us.

The first day we met and her determination not to crumble even though she had lost half the members of the convoy she had sworn to try to keep safe...

The ambush in Las Vegas and the screams of anger and hurt brought home by the death of Mikey that almost overcame her but forced down the determination to never give up...

The shared sorrow between us when we had to say goodbye to Carlos a man we both deeply cared for and respected and in my case I think I loved...

The understanding in her eyes when I told them I was staying at the Umbrella facility in Nevada to try to put a stop. I depended on her to keep K-Mart and the others safe and she knew it. We didn't need to say a word but that was when we began to go past being friends to something else even though we never expected to see each other again...

The worry I felt when I found the helicopter in Alaska with no sign of her. I was in a near panic over K-Mart missing but my heart felt an ache whenever I glanced at the empty pilot's seat...

How astonished and worried I was when I realized the unkempt, dirty attacker in the middle of the abandoned planes was her. And at the same time my aching heart took a leap and kicked into high gear as I realized I had found her even though I was to discover that she didn't remember me...

The flight down the coast and how comfortable it was to know she was right behind me, dangerous or not and how satisfying it was to realize that I could trust her again with or without her memories, even if I did roll my eyes...

The fight on the rooftop and her tossing me the submachine-gun...

The battle with the monster hooded figure in the washroom. I was lying against the wall it had thrown me against, dazed and unable to move. All I could see was the huge axe hammer lifting and I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. Then there were the shots and I could see her, standing calmly as though at target practice, firing measured aimed shots into the creature.

I wanted to scream "Leave her alone!" when it turned towards her and away from me. But I couldn't. Then I saw the most acrobatic demonstration I have seen in forever when she leaped against the wall and flipped over its head. And her charging it when it turned; I thought she was insane only to marvel at her sliding between its legs while firing my shotgun she had scooped up. There the sense of relief that washed over me when it fell and the terror in both of us when it got back up. But she had bought enough time for me stand beside her and cut it down for good after we dodged its axe one more time. Neither of us is anything like a shrinking violet but we both sagged against each other when it finally fell and looked up at the weapon embedded in the wall just over our heads. And I never wanted to break that simple touch of our bodies...

The moment that I faced Wesker and his new minions, canine and human both, and looked past him to see that she and Chris had followed me, were backing me up no matter what the odds. I was so angry when Wesker flipped her against the floor and I heard her cry out. How DARE he hurt her? The fury helped me, focused me, allowed me to dispose of his T-virus mutated dogs and face him. And who else was there when he tried to rise one more time when I was exhausted and unarmed? Her of course...

The race together on deck to stand between her and Chris to make sure that we watched the Wesker's VTOL explode. The smile on her face was priceless when she realized that I had planted the bomb on his transport that I knew he would try to use to destroy us. We grinned at each other but our eyes said so much more...

And our eyes are saying much more right now...

Barely a moment has passed since I answered Chris and I continue. All these thoughts flowed between her and me in an instant.

"We keep the promise."

And that's not just the promise I'm about to broadcast. It's the promise that I'm sending her. To the world I promise with spoken words...

"This is Arcadia calling..."

To her I promise with my eyes and heart...

"I love you Claire Redfield."

And the most beautiful eyes in the world answer me back.

(The End)

(Okay I wasn't planning anything with this pairing yet but when something takes over your mind you have to write it. I don't intend to add to this but I hope to be writing a longer Alice/Claire story in the future. And I still love Alice and Carlos but I definitely saw something between Alice and Claire in "Afterlife".)