I sat down, while visiting my brother at his college dorm, and decided that I was going to read some fan fiction on the game he was playing for me. It turns out it was Resident Evil 4

This is a COOL game. I hate how the end is though. And I don't like the way the portray Ashley's character in the end. I don't think she would at like that.

Summary: From Ashley's POV: He protects her. She knows that he won't let harm fall on her. She can't help the feeling of uselessness and decides to help him herself. Becoming more aware of her feelings as she does this, she wonders again about her feelings and his obligations.

Warning: Can be violent, I suppose. But if you played the game, then you're probably used to it. I don't think I should get any warnings about that at all.

This is going to be a short story. No doubt it will be complete within a month so don't fret. I plan on it being about 5 chapters. I will update as soon as I can, so bare with.

Also, the title is subject to change, just so you are warned.

Luky

(P.S. - When I went looking for an Ashley/Leon story, I found nothing but smut. It's gross and disturbing to see some of those scenarios thought up of people. Originally this story was going to be a one-shot about her and Leon's deaths, together. How Leon gets controlled, and tries to take her back, but Ashley shoots him, then her. I thought: No happy ending? YUCK!

And don't worry, I have not forgotten about Ada…)

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Chapter One:

He Protects Me

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ASHLEY:

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He protects me.

I ran for him. Twice fear filled my heart and stopped my steps. The gun in his hand, which moved and slid with grace, was less a fear of mine then the fate that awaited us, but I was unable to understand at the time.

They come again, so we run, together, he and I. My breath comes in short gasps, but I can't stop myself. I'm tired, but I know he is far worse then I, so I bare the pains and stifle the sniffles. We hit a part where it looks like a dead end. He looks around frantically, searching with his eyes for a place of escape. He is distracted though, as he turns to face the enemies and fire off more bullets.

'I want to help him!' I think, and let my eyes wander the room quickly. I run a little ahead of him, although he told me to follow him, I can't help my feet. I see the glint of white against the dark walls and see, on either side of the platform, a spin wheel. Hope fills me as I look for a ledge to climb up on.

'I can help him now! Maybe now he will have a use for me!' I think quickly, and wonder at the little joy in my heart at that thought.

He suddenly grabs my arm and drags me forward. I feel his bare skin and I blush slightly. Where had he lost his glove?

We are running when, from the corner of my eyes, I see a painting, and a ledge. I jerk to a halt now, stopping him in his tracks and yell: "Look, there is a lever!"

He sees it suddenly and his eyes search faster and find the ledge quicker then I had. Perhaps I wasn't being helpful?

But no! As we near the ledge I see that it is actually really high, and both of us can't climb it. I realize instantly, before the heat of his gaze hits me, that he needs me to help him do this. The question, WHY, comes to mind as I allow myself to be lifted up on his shoulders. I fight the urge to call him a pervert, but I know that it isn't the time.

"I'll pull the lever, Leon! Cover me!" I feel the glow as I hoist myself up over the ledge. I race to the lever my hands reaching for it just as a black cloaked figure appeared from the shadows in front of me.

I scream and duck, bullets explode above my head in an animalistic roar. My hands drop from the lever, and a hot spray of blood washes over me. A corpse flops over at my side and I quiver with horror and fear as another bullet hits the monster. The shrill scream of bullets makes me cringe and I duck and cover my head, trying to hide the sound. When was the last time he had used the rifle?

Clenching my eyes closed, the question WHY comes to me against my better wishes. I ask myself again why I am here. Why was I kidnapped? Why did the need me? Was it to get back at Daddy? Why do I feel the need to put myself in further danger? The answer seemed so obvious; I needed to do this so we could live! But didn't I want him to look at me differently, not like a coward, but as a…

A hand grabs me and the fingers grip me like the talons of a feral beast, tearing thick holes in my shirt. I scream a name and am tugged backwards off my feet by my collar. I land hard in a pool of blood. It splashes again, staining my skirt and flinging into my face. I cry out again, the same name, fear in my voice as I clench my eyes shut. The feel of the blood sliding down the cheek causes me to whimper like a child.

(A memory from the past fills me; as a child, afraid of the boogie-man. "Close your eyes real tight and give a yell! I'll come and protect you alright? Just close your eyes…" the soft voice of my father whispered in the night. I closed my eyes. Daddy said the boogieman would go away if I closed my eyes when I was scared).

'I'll just block this out!' I think, and fist my hands over my eyes, blood smearing on my face. If I close my eyes, everything will be better. I have to wait for Daddy. Daddy will make sure the boogie man goes away. Daddy will protect me…

A sound shatters my delirious thoughts. Strange how one act of bravery would make me crumble? The voice yells:

"Ashley! Get up!"

I recognize that voice. I want to hear it again. It's HIS voice.

It's him.

He protects me.

I scream his name again, opening my eyes just in time to see another hooded figure flip me over its shoulder. My vision is instantly obscured as my blond hair covers my face. I try to push myself upwards with my hands on the monster's shoulders and I feel the sagging flesh from underneath the thick cloak. I fail and its collar juts against my stomach.

I cry out again, this time, banging my fists against the drooping cloak frantically. I scream again and again for help, calling his name as loud as I can with my diaphragm crushed as it was. Suddenly, I hear a gunshot, and I cover my ears as an explosion of blood sprays into my eyes, inches away from my face.

"Agh!" I scream, again, my voice hoarse from the constant yelling, and ball my fists into my eyes as the corpse drops me. I land hard on my elbow and feel a sharp sting as my head collides with the floor. I roll away, and his shouts- I can faintly hear the echo of his voice calling out to me behind the rapid beating of my heart and the shower of bullets- rush into my head in a dizzying rush. I shudder, tears bursting to my eyes as I force my body to lift from its prone position on the floor.

The tears slip through my scrunched eyes as I roll away. From below I can hear his words stop in mid sentence; mid command. I roll away and sit up; I know he has battles he must fight for himself. He too is being attacked. Again the question WHY…

Why did I offer to come up here then? Why did I risk myself if I was going to cry and whine and allow myself to be taken? There was more I could do! More I could do before the end! And I didn't want it to be the end; I had so much more to do and to say.

I stand and sway; my head pounds but I block out the pain.

He protects me.

I stumble blindly towards the direction I felt the best. I know what I have to do! The lever was our only hope. I can't lift him up onto the lever with my own strength so I will have to do this on my own. He needs me to do this so I will, so we can both get out of here alive, together.

'I can help you if you let me…'

I frantically wipe at my eyes, reservations filling me. The jet spray of blood that blinded me caused my eyes to barely open. The velocity that the coppery liquid had hit me with has practically blinded me. I am grateful, however, because he did succeed in saving me from the monster, although his long ranged bullet was a scant inch away from my face.

Still…

"I trust you!" I scream as I run and I don't look to see if he hears me or not. I have to believe he will cover me- I know he will.

I trip on a corpse, but it doesn't stop me. I land on my face and my jaw smacks together, a headache forming instantly (or was it already there and I didn't notice it until now?). I struggle to get up, my hands slipping from the sweat and blood. My finger nails connect with a rotting lump of flesh, and beneath them I feel the skin tearing. I stand and stumble but don't fall. I can feel the corpse flesh under my nails.

At last, I feel the cold steel against my hands and I collapse on it with all my weight. Relieved, I start to turn it, my arms shaking, from what, I am uncertain (fear?). I feel the tightness of the steel spindle give way and with a cry of joy I watch as it turns quickly in my hands.

I smile, and continue to blink as the blood in my eyes has been already wiped away. I turn my head and see more creatures lumbering towards me. I can also see him as he whirls away from my direction, his knife swinging into the neck of his target. Twisting, he wrenches the blade from the blistered flesh; the sound of its cloth tearing fills me as I watch.

'no.' my mind pushes at me. I was being distracted. I had to think clearly!

'I'm going to do this, for him!'

He protects me.

'So I'll be strong and help him too!" My thoughts turn from thoughts and I scream towards the end. My arms are shaking still, but renewed courage fills me. I can feel the strain as the platform begins to appear over the water. I cry out, biting my mouth as I start to call his name. It comes out as a whisper, but it still seemed so loud.

Pain fills me as another claw grapples my shoulder. I feel the skin tearing, but my arms wrap around the wheel, preventing the creature from taking me. I close my eyes again from pain this time and wait for; the shot rings out and the pressure on my shoulder disappears instantly. I feel what I think is an arm flop to the floor and hit my leg. I open my eyes and another shot rings out, the killing blow I assume.

I drop to my knees and pull the wheel with me. A resounding thud echoes as the platform stops and the wheel stops too. It was pushed all the way down.

I hear him calling again. This time a cry of battle is what issues from his lips. I feel joy as I get to my feet. This time I run to the side of the ledge, screaming his name.

"Leon!"

His face turns to me, his blond hair dancing among his sweat and dirt covered face and I see in his eyes relief. For a moment I am out of breath with joy. I help him. This man, I have helped him as he helped me.

I feel a flutter of something growing inside my heart. It is unlike the feeling of the creature growing inside of me, because it is not painful. As I look into his eyes, I feel something I thought might not have happened in a place bathed in blood.

He protects me.

I've understood.

His eyes turn away from mine as his body spins, aiming his gun and letting the bullets fly. I watch patiently as he fights.

My hero.

His gun gives a click; loud enough to fill the room, but it doesn't stop him. Holstering the pistol, he drops the magazine out and presses his knife into the neck of an advancing foe. With a gut wrenching rip, he drags the knife to the left, and slices the head partially off. I watch as it flops backwards onto its back, and marvel at the strength of the rotten flesh that keeps it attached.

He again has eyes for me. I wonder if it is just my own, childish, wishful thinking, but I am happy to see relief on his face as he runs towards the wall where I stand above him, awaiting his arms. He gets there just in time to yell "look out!"

I feel something yank me by my hair, and my thoughts flee me like a candle flame being extinguished. My hands come to my head instantaneously, where the creature's hand grips me cruelly. I feel the tears in my eyes again, but I don't give up. He has my hair, but he can't have too much control, considering we were standing on a ledge.

An idea comes to me. My hands grip his and feel their way up its decaying arms to where the sleeves of his (from what I suppose to be a black cloak) black coat hang. I fumble until I have as much of the cloth bunched in my small hands as possible. It's dragging me backwards, but I won't let it have me. Besides…

'He is calling me name…'

Clenching them tightly in my hands, I drop like a sack of bricks to my knees. The creature, unsuspecting, bends with the force of my fall, its body curving over mine. Without stopping, I pull on the arms sleeves as hard as I can. The creature teeters over me and the cloth is wrenches me forward onto my face as it sails over the side of the wall. I scream as I come halfway off but release my hold just in time to save myself from a broken neck.

My hands burn, but not as badly as they would have if they had not been wet. I don't look over to see Leon dispose of it, but I can hear his panting as he does so. Weakly, my arms trembling, I inch over to the side. He is waiting again, but my ears have gone death to his calls. I swing my legs over the side, and watch as his arms reach up to catch me.

He protects me.

I fall from above and land in his arms. I usually would have been set down right then, but for some reason he lingered, if only for a moment, and my thoughts swept through me like a hurricane.

'I did it; I helped protect him a little! I could help him, just a tiny bit! I did it!' I can't stop myself. The emotions, so many, rise up within me and I feel as if my mind was flying apart. My fingers ache and my lips twitch. I allow myself this moment, this second of bliss and-

For a moment, I feel the rough texture of his hands and the smoothness of his hair as I wrap my thin and shaking arms around his neck. I press my face into the hollow of his neck and taste the salt of his sweat against my lips as I open my mouth and sob hysterically.

'So much for strength.'

But the moment lasts. I feel the hand's grip beneath my knees tighten and the grip around my back shift too. His arms press my shaking body against him, and I feel the strong, rapid, pulse of his heart against my chest as his hand reaches for my head. His fingers glide through my hair and he presses me closer still- I feel the warmth of his breath as he speaks my name.

Oh, before now, if I had met him at a different place, or a different time, would my heart hurt like it does now? Would my pulse race with the touch of his hands, or a look from his eyes? Would my arms wrap around him, without warning or heed, as they do now? Would this feeling be there at first glance? Would I know this… this… completion, ever again?

"Ashley!" He says hoarsely, but I cannot see his face.

I can't answer him. He questions my health but I cannot say a word because my mouth is silent with the strength of my emotions. My arms do not budge, and I know that I am acting like a child, but I can't let go; just one moment longer, please Lord? One moment that might forever last until I can no longer remember this blood and these horrors?

'Let me stay like this, forever!' I think desperately, almost angrily. But as soon as this thought enters my mind, horror at my actions follows. We are in danger; all around us enemies are plotting our demise. They want me DEAD, and inside of each of our bodies is something far more wicked then anything I could have ever imagined.

My heart aches and my grip loosens. I feel the exhaustion come in a huge wave but the danger is not over yet. I know that I can't burden him much more. He needs his hands to shoot and his body to fight. I cannot take that away from him for even a minute or we will both, surely, die.

I am gently placed on my feet and his eyes question my actions, silently entreating the cause of my sudden distress. I look away, and manage to hide my blush in the dim light. I hope he did not feel the racing of my heart while I was in my arms. He might have thought my tears fearful, or weak, or even worse- childish.

'I bet he hates wimpy woman.'

Regardless. My hands clench at my sides and I resolve myself to be strong. I won't let myself be weak, not right now, I had my fill, and that fill… would be my last ever, I was certain.

He grabs my hand and I am surprised by the sudden action. His gun at his hip, which I caught myself staring at for some unknown reason, glints in the candle light as he whips it out and fires at an approaching monster. It doesn't stop with one bullet, however, and his wrenching stop causes me to stumble, but not loosen my grip on his bare hand.

A clip later, and we are at the stepping strips that I had made rise from the water with my single act of bravery. I am sad at the loss of his hand as he jumps across first. I am preparing to jump when he reaches across to help me. I blush slightly (heaven knows why) and leap.

My quivering legs aren't strong enough but my hand reaches his. With a firm yank, he jerks me forward, still in the air. Pain fills my arm and dots spring to my eyes in a dizzying rush as I slam into him, on the other side of the water. I wasn't able to relish in that though, as his urgency increased as the slate began to shake. With a cry, I almost fall into the water, but again, his hands stop me.

Funny how he could be so fierce, so rough, when he is fighting, yet is it my imagination, or wishful thinking, that his grip softens when I am in his arms?

'I am a silly, stupid… child'

He jumps across the last length of water, and this time I make it over the side without being tugged in the air. I collapse to my knees, though, and a pain fills my stomach. His hand, which was gripping mine (gently), let's go (reluctantly?) as I pull away and wrap my arms around my abdomen. My face contorts in pain as I feel something literally move inside of my stomach. Pain bursts like an electric wave in my chest and slides up to my face where it resounds in my head.

Heat breaks out over my skin and my eyes scrunch closed from the sheer intensity of the pain. I've never felt anything so painful in my life. It feels like something is clawing its way up my chest and it burns. I cough hard many times. I feel something tear within me and my eyes bulge. I can't see Leon.

I empty my stomach on the floor, and it tears at my throat with the force of my wrenching. I didn't have to look at it to see the blood; I taste it in my mouth.

The world around me suddenly gets darker and I feel the dizzying colors spreading above my eyes once more. 'There was nothing in my stomach at all, what did I throw up?' I think, real fear digging through me. I couldn't let anything happen to myself; I had so much more to do- so much more to say!

Leon!

I want to cry, but I can't speak again. Fear has my throat paralyzed and pain has crowded my vision. I see his face, barely, as it nears mine, his eyes peering deeply into mine. I gurgle noiselessly, but I feel it bubbling in my throat.

Too much.

Leon…

My eyelids close as I my lips mumble his name. His eyes are concerned over mine, but I can't tell for sure. I can't hear what he is saying, but I can see the worry etched into his face.

Worry over his mission, worry over the consequences of losing me, worry over me? I don't know which… the right answer- is but I hope… at least… he's worried… over me…

He protects me…

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Darkness.

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END OF CHAPTER AUTHOR COMMENTARY:

What joy! I had so much fun writing this XD I was very excited about it! I like this pairing a lot. If you have good stories about this please tell me of them :-D

No bad comments please! If you have a point then share it- a question, then ask it! But please don't flame me about the pairing, it isn't all that unnatural!

I'm glad I got to write this! I can't wait to write Leon's POV next XD

Comment PLEASE!

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I do not own or ever will own these characters! It was my joy to buy the game, enjoy it to the fullest, and then think of small off shoots! I make no profits as this work is done for the enjoyment of myself and others.