Promise

Rebecca Chambers, biochemical specialist and field medic of the S.T.A.R.S Bravo team, could not be sure whether the fear or adrenaline was pulsing harder through her veins.

"Probably a mixture of both…" the 18-year old rookie mouthed out loud, despite knowing nothing could hear her.

She could barely hear herself over the rushing water beneath her feet. The pungent smell of sewage and chemical mixtures assaulted her nose, but Rebecca figured it didn't compare to the smell of death.

"Especially when death wears tattered clothes and a rotting human face…"

Rebecca shuddered involuntarily as she continued through the rooms of the long abandoned Arklay Treatment Facility, wishing and hoping fervently that Billy had the strength to survive until she found him.

"He looked in horrible shape already… no, Becca, don't think like that. Don't even think that Billy did anything but survive. He's a strong fighter…" Rebecca shook the depressing thoughts away, the guilt behind the words nagging at her insides.

"Great way to repay the man who's helped you survive the night, dismissing his chances of survival and preparing yourself for the worst. Maybe this whole thing is making me too pessimistic…"

Officer Chambers gripped her standard issue Beretta tighter as the all too familiar sounds of shambling footsteps and pitiful, hungry moans reached her ears. Two zombies, dressed in remnants of clothing that marked them as former plant workers, lurched towards her from the shadows.

Steadying her shaking body and her shot nerves, Rebecca squeezed the trigger.

The 9mm rounds punched through the open, wailing mouth of one and burst out through the nape of the neck. Slimy fluids and shattered vertebrae painted a messy pattern on the concrete walls as the dead-again body slumped to the ground.

As the second one slowly plodded towards her, she quelled the pity rising in her heart for these shells… these walking corpses.

Her second round of fire burst through the white, dripping left eye of the second zombie. The gummy, viscous liquid and atrophied facial muscled exploded outwards, destroying the head and causing the cadaver to continue its march for a few more seconds before collapsing.

Rebecca sighed, lowering the handgun towards the floor as she walked past the corpses. Even through the faded clothing and tatters, she could make out names imprinted on the right-side lapels. Kneeling down for a closer look, the rookie cop read aloud the names- she felt that, in their last moments, these unknowing people---victims of a grand tragedy--- should be able to retain some semblance of what made them human.

Because she realized, if she saw these people as "monsters" rather than victims, she would be no better than the one who infected them with the t-virus.

Although she was not one for religion, Rebecca offered a small prayer accompanied by a sad smile.

"Rest in peace, Jason and Derrick," she said as she passed the corpses that were beyond hearing.

The first thing Billy Coen, ex-Marine and falsely accused murderer of 23 people saw upon awakening was a filmy, impossibly brown and green room. Slimy, cold rusted metal provided a little comfort to his aching back, but the sound of water rushing beneath him reminded him exactly how he got there in the first place.

"Leech man… knocked me off the trolley platform… Rebecca!" Billy said with a groan, his body suddenly catching up to him as he forcibly expelled water and bile from his stomach.

"BILLY!" A plea that echoed his own reached his ears.

The man, hearing the voice he least expected to hear but incredibly glad that he did, turned towards the panic stricken young woman as she rushed towards him.

"Miss me… that much, princess?" He told her with a weak smile on his face, wiping away the slime and vomit from his mouth.

"Don't talk. Save your energy, please," She almost commanded him, her voice a mix of relief and forcefulness towards her partner.

Billy flinched as Rebecca shone a small flashlight directly into her eyes, and a warm blush just barely visible made its way towards his cheeks as her petite, delicate hands traced his torso and arms for damage.

"No sign of anosocoria, heart rate is normal; if you'd incurred even mild traumatic brain injury, I wouldn't be able to help you." Rebecca was talking more to herself than the man across her. When she was dealing with chemistry and biology and the human body, Rebecca Chambers was in her element, certainly more so than she was when it came to the walking dead, abandoned creepy churches, and nightmarish scientific experiments.

Rebecca could handle this. This was human.

"What are you doing?" Billy interrupted her as she gently placed her hand on his neck to feel his pulse, "I'm fine, Rebecca, honestly."

"No one could take a fall from so high and ingest chemically-infused shit water and graze several underwater rock formations and be…be just FINE." Rebecca's voice trembled, high pitched and cracking slightly.

He gingerly levered himself up into a sitting position to be level with the young woman, chocolate eyes gazing into her expressive green ones.

An expression of concern made its way onto the ex-Marine's face as he beheld the obviously rattled girl across from him.

"It's not me I'm worried about, doll face. Are you sure you're all right?"

Rebecca hiccupped as she tried to hold back tears, "I thought… I thought I'd lost you, Billy. You've helped me out so many times tonight, when I was obviously such a burden and merely slowing you down. You've could've just left me behind, but you stayed with me. You've saved my life more times than I could count; the second time we meet, you destroyed all those leeches. And there I was, mistrusting you and trying to apprehend you for a crime you didn't commit…"

Billy gave her a gentle smile as he wiped away the tears falling down her face, "Well, consider your debt of saving my life paid. Don't sweat it, Rebecca." His face transitioned to a boyish, easygoing grin as he laid his arms behind his head.

"So, what is your diagnosis on my condition, Nurse Chambers?"

Rebecca lightly punched him in the side, saying with a watery-eyed smile, "Other than some bruising and a cracked rib or two, you should be all right. No long lasting damage for you, Lieutenant Coen."

She raised her pointer finger at him in mock severity, emulating a stern matron, "However, no strenuous activity or heavy lifting! You're on bed rest for the next couple of days!"

Billy laughed as he stood up, offering the medic a hand to help her stand.

"Too bad that's not going to happen for a while yet. Ready to leave this hellhole behind?" He asked her, opening the door and stepping out of the eerie room with the pile of bones.

She took his hand and stood up, following close.

The young woman muttered something under her breath as they closed the door shut behind them.

"Did you say something, Rebecca?" He asked, turning towards his partner and ally.

"You have to promise me…" Rebecca flushed, moving forward and taking hold of his left hand, fiddling with the handcuffs as she spoke, her voice some strange combination of chiding and pleading, "promise that you won't leave me alone again. All right?"

Billy squeezed her hand tightly in return, not letting go.

"Don't worry, Rebecca," he told her reassuringly as he led them further into the treatment facility. Each step through the plant led them ever closer to the man behind this nightmare, and closer to their freedom

"I promise."

So, I hope this wasn't too horrible for a first try at a Resident Evil fic. I think Billy and Rebecca are adorable together, so I thought I'd write down this idea that has been on my mind all day.

I might write more RE once I've beaten the other games, Zero is the only one I've had the courage to play all the way through so far _. My memory of the Treatment Plant is just a little fuzzy, so the description is more than likely off.

Anosocoria is the medical condition where one pupil is larger than the other. Is a tell tale sign of brain damage worse than a concussion, so I thought I would throw that in there when Becky was checking Billy for damage.

Overall, I just hope that you enjoyed!