Chapter 21

A little under a week had passed since the events on Rockfort and Antarctica. The whole ordeal, from being grabbed at the airport until they landed at the Australian research base for the flight home, tallied almost to two weeks, with a majority of Claire's time spent sitting in the Umbrella holding tank in Paris. Funny enough, that had been the least terrifying period.

She was grateful for the privacy of the apartment they were staying at, even if she was sleeping on a fold-out bed; it was just her and Chris, like the days before she moved off to college. Saying goodbye to Steve had been hard, but he said it would be better if he moved to his relatives, to keep them safe from Umbrella in case they decided to follow up on what happened on Rockfort. He promised to keep in touch whenever he could. Claire couldn't keep the blush out of her cheeks when they hugged and parted, but was thankful Chris chose not to remark...at least not verbally, anyways.

It was also nice not having to worry about waking up a roommate with the nightmares. She had more than her fair share after Raccoon City, and Cheryl was an absolute doll during the three months after, staying up to talk her through it if she woke up with a cry or talking in her sleep. At the same time, she wished Cheryl was back for that same reason. She thought about talking to Chris, but she didn't want to wake him up in the middle of the night because she had dreams. That was something a kid would do, and she felt a little ashamed at the thought of it.

The only trouble was, she didn't feel like going to bed after nightmares, especially after this one. It had been filled with Wesker's red eyes, and she'd woken drenched in a cold sweat to the point where she had to change into a dry tank top. It looked like it was going to be the third night in a row with no sleep.

The hands on the clock softly ticked the seconds away, just past three in the morning. Claire dug a spoon into a pint of Ben and Jerry's to help ease her troubles, a single light in the small kitchenette providing illumination to eat by. At least the sweetness of a late night treat was something that stayed constant in life. It that vanished, she wasn't sure how she would cope.

A soft noise hit her ears, and Chris stepped out from the darkness of his room, rubbing his stubble. "Hey." He was wearing an old shirt and a pair of gym shorts, like he normally did for bed.

"Hey," she replied, after a spoonful of chocolate, feeling a little embarrassed. "I didn't wake you did I? I was trying to be quiet."

"Nah, I was already up. Saw the light on, thought maybe I left it on." He slid a stool on the other side of the counter where she sat. "Ribs still keeping you up?"

She shook her head a little morosely. Two cracked ribs hurt, but were reduced to mainly discomfort after an ample amount of painkillers. "Just dreams. You know, the usual..."

"I hear you," Chris said wearily. "Even after it's all over, we keep reminding ourselves about it unconsciously. I still have a few about what happened in Raccoon. Want to talk?"

She did, but what was there to talk about? That Wesker flat out scared the shit out of her? What exactly was he supposed to do about that?

Between the whiny thoughts, however, she settled on a more grim reason. Tonight's dream was particularly bad, but it was the only one so far where she hadn't dreamed of Sherry. Chris didn't know about her fate, and all because she still hadn't told him that she'd gotten picked up by Wesker. How much of her nightmares were actually guilt trips?

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "No...yes," she said flatly, changing her mind. It was now, or never. If she didn't tell Chris, who was going to rescue Sherry?

"What kind of dreams have you been having?" Chris asked.

"Typical nightmare stuff," she said, "But that's not really it."

Despite her resolve to confess, her conscience was holding her back. Just don't tell him, it said. Don't compromise the one relationship you can always trust. He doesn't have to know.

"Claire?"

Claire sighed and dropped her spoon on the counter, then slid her stool back. "Chris, we need to sit down."

Ignoring the fact that they had already been seated, she moved to the more comfortable living room, flicking on one of the floor lamps. The living room wasn't much of a separate room; it shared the kitchenette's walls, with only a small divider wall between the two. The linoleum abruptly became carpet, and aside from a TV, the only furniture was an old couch and a small coffee table.

Chris sat down, looking perplexed and cautious as Claire settled next to him. She could hear her heart hammering in her chest. It had been ages since she'd actually been nervous to talk to Chris about anything. Pushing back her loose hair over her shoulder, she took a deep breath.

"It's about what happened, last week," she began. "About how Umbrella caught me. I had been planning to go to Europe to look for you, along with Leon and a girl named Sherry. Leon mention her when he contacted you, right?"

"A little," Chris answered slowly, "She was a girl you rescued from Raccoon."

Claire nodded. "She was the daughter of some researchers in a lab. Anyway, we set out almost two weeks ago to go looking for you. Leon got called by the government, so he wasn't able to meet us. But..."

It's not too late to stop...

"But?" Chris asked.

She swallowed hard. "We never made it out of the state. Because of Wesker."

Once she started talking, she couldn't stop. She told him everything, starting with the arrival at the airport, and how Sherry disappeared. The cops arresting her, finding out they weren't cops, and then meeting Wesker. How he threatened them both, threatened to kill Sherry, and what he wanted her to do. The tears started to flow as she remembered the lonely flight to France, feeling watched and manipulated as she was forced to sneak into Umbrella's facility, then getting caught and shipped to Rockfort. As she let more and more out, the shame and guilt rose. She couldn't even look at him as she spoke, so she had no way to gage his reaction.

Chris sat in silence, listening to her as she cried through the entire experience again, forced to detail the terror she felt when she had to face down Alfred Ashford, all because Wesker forced her to, lest Sherry be killed.

Finished, she bowed her head into her hands, sobbing as she gripped her bangs. The guilt of holding back her confession no longer chewed at her from the inside, but the memory of it all left her feeling used and violated. He knew that she hadn't gotten haplessly scooped up into the conspiracy; she had been an instrumental tool that started it all, and it nearly cost him his life to come and bail her out.

"You're only telling me now because you thought I'd be angry?" Chris asked quietly. "Is that why you waited so long?"

She nodded, unable to look at him. The yells would come soon. She'd seen how angry he could get.

Chris didn't yell or scream. Instead, he sighed, sounding frustrated. "You idiot."

She felt his arm around her shoulder, and he pulled her close. One hand cupped the side of her face, letting it rest onto his shoulder. The action was so sudden that she let out a whimper, fearing it was out of malice. As soon as she felt that familiar comfort, she lost it, and wrapped her arms around him. New shame rose, but now she was ashamed that she let her trust in Chris waver for as long as it did. She wanted to kick herself endlessly for doubting that he'd do anything less than love her.

He didn't have to say anything about forgiving her or how good it felt to see her safe. He let her cry. It felt good to let it all out after keeping it bottled up for so long. The longing she felt after being separated began to fill as he gently stroked her back, gently comforting her as sobs racked her body, even spurring up the pain still present in her ribs. The cries receded gradually, until just silent tears streamed from her eyes. Even those began to slow, and eventually stopped. His stubble lightly grazed the top of her head, where his cheek rested.

"We'll get her back, Claire," he said softly. "I promise. You know I keep my promises."

"I know," she whispered. "Thank you."

She lost Sherry, but found Chris, and he was the one who could save her from Wesker. He may have used Claire against her will, manipulated and twisted her to his own ends, but no matter what happened, she and Chris would bounce back, and together, they would win.

The End