A/N: Ah, my first RE fic on this site. Joyous! I've written stories for this franchise before but I've always been a little hesitant about presenting them. RE fans are crazy people. They are also very protective of their favorite characters. So, for the sake of keeping my head, I ask you politely to just enjoy the story. I don't want to hear about how I'm deviating from the storyline, etc. This is for entertainment purposes, not to become RE canon. Take a deep breath and relax...

This story will rely heavily on the events of RE0 and RE:CVX. If you aren't familiar with either of these (to which you have my pity...they're both great games), I suggest reading Thomas Wilde's and Dan Birlew's plot synopsis at GameFAQS. Its pretty stellar. Its also insanely sarcastic...and I'm rambling.

Disclaimer Info: See my profile page.

Chapter One - Rebecca Chambers

My Guardian Angel

"Get a doctor down here! This man is bleeding to death!" Several nurses frantically tried to stop the man's massive cut, but his vitals continued to drop. There was no information yet on how it happened. At that moment, it didn't really matter. His life was in danger and they would save it by any means necessary.

Seconds later, a young woman appeared and pushed a nurse out of the way. Her face was unmoved by the scene in front of her. "What happened?" she asked as she applied pressure to the man's arm.

"We don't know. Some kind of accident in the woods."

The woman nodded and began shouting orders. "I need this man hooked up to an IV pronto! Someone get blood ready for transfusions. You," she pointed to another nurse who had just rushed into the room, "get my partner down here immediately for help. Go!" They all scattered.

The bleeding man suddenly came to and started screaming like a banshee. One of the nurses grabbed his good arm to hold him down. "What's going on?!" he cried amidst his wailing.

"You've had an accident," the doctor said, trying to stop the flow of blood. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I…I…" He lapsed into unconsciousness again. The doctor continued to work on his arm as the staff around her frantically carried out her orders.

Between the victim's bouts of pain, another doctor came in to assist. A few strands of his snow white hair fell in his face, but they failed to cover the lines of worry that had formed on his brow. "What caused that?" he asked, pointing to the man's arm. He was already checking his vitals and assessing the situation.

"No clue," the woman said. "He's been in and out of consciousness since he came in. The bleeding is slowing but won't stop. He needs surgery."

"The artery needs to be repaired," the older man said in agreement. "Is there a room available?" One of the nurses nodded. "Get him in there immediately. Did you request blood for transfusions yet?"

"Yeah. They should be ready."

"Good. Let's get this man in there now before we lose him."

She nodded. The two doctors wheeled the man into surgery, undaunted by the monumental task before them.

Luckily for both the hospital staff and the man in question, quick action and sharp thinking had prevented more blood from being lost and proving fatal. They expertly repaired the damage to his arm and set him on a series of transfusions to bring him back to normal. Over the course of an hour, the two were nonstop and unwavering in their dedication to their patient. Only when he was in stable condition and resting peacefully did Rebecca Chambers opt to take a break.

Shedding her bloodstained scrubs, she wandered into the break room and collapsed on a couch. The adrenaline was starting to wear off. She let out a long sigh and leaned back on the cushions, closing her eyes.

"Hey Becca! Did that guy make it?" She opened her eyes to see her friend, Rachel Evans, leaning over her. Rachel had been a nurse at the hospital for a year now and had immediately attached herself to Rebecca. She had said it was because they were the same age. But the doctor knew better; her friend's bubbly personality found balance in her own steadiness and calm demeanor.

Rebecca sat up and Rachel joined her on the couch. "Yeah, he made it. He was lucky someone brought him in when they did. Otherwise, he might have bled out before we could help him."

"I heard it was bad. Like, blood everywhere!" Rachel's eyes went wide. Her look was almost comical.

"Yeah, it was serious. But we managed. Doctor Engal is a great guy to have on your team when sometime like that happens."

"But you're good, too. I mean, people talk about it all the time, how young you are to know so much."

Rebecca shrugged. "I pick things up quickly."

"It doesn't change that you're only twenty-nine. Most doctors don't even get out of med school until they're this age."

"So I'm advanced for my age. Big deal."

Rachel shook her head. "That's not the point. Haven't you heard the rumors? You know, the ones people used to spread about you when you first came here."

"The ones about how I cheated through my exams because there's no way someone could become a doctor at my age? Or how the only reason I get promoted is because I sleep my way up the ladder?" Rachel nodded, her eyes still wide. "No one bothers to account for my experience or my credentials. I promise, they exist and they're legit."

"Oh, I know that," Rachel said, tossing her blonde hair back. "I just…"

"What?"

"Well, what are your credentials exactly? No one seemed to know when I came here besides the head staff, and they won't talk about them. Did you work for some kind of secret service?"

Rebecca laughed. "Been reading too many crime novels lately?"

"I can't help it! I love a good mystery every now and then. Of course," her eyes drifted towards the window, where the sun was beginning to drop lower in the sky, "nothing beats the stories told about that incident in Raccoon City."

"That was ten years ago," Rebecca said curtly.

"You never want to talk about that. Why do you get upset when people mention that place?"

"I lost people that I knew there."

"Oh!" Rachel cried, quickly placing her hands over her friend's. "I'm sorry! I had no idea you knew people in Raccoon City. Was it…was it really as bad as the news and the stories say it was?"

Rebecca glanced at her watch. She was due to check on her latest patient, and she needed to make her rounds before another emergency hit the hospital. She stood, but turned to Rachel before leaving. The nurse's eyes were still brimming with curiosity. "You'll never know how bad it was, and I hope you never do."

She didn't wait to see her friend's reaction as she wandered back into the busy hallway. Doctor Engal was waiting for her. "Did you catch your breath?"

"Yeah," she answered, offering a small smile. "How's he doing?"

"Good. His condition has improved, and he's come back to consciousness. Would you like to see him?" She nodded and he led her through the maze to where the man was resting.

She was glad to see that his color had returned and that his arm was no longer a fountain. After a quick check of his chart, she walked into the room and sat down nearby. "Neil Aikins. You're lucky to be alive, sir."

Neil nodded weakly. "Did you…find out what hap-happened?"

She held up her hand to calm him down. "You need to relax. You've been through enough. And no, we've not found out what happened. The police are looking into the area where you were found. Seems like you had a guardian angel on your side today."

He chuckled, wincing in pain. "Yeah. I had two…two more here. Th-thanks."

"I'm just doing my job, Mr. Aikins. Now you need to do yours - rest. I'll check on you later."

"Wait." She paused and noticed that he was looking at her neck. "What…what…"

She reached up and touched her collarbone. The metal chain she always wore around her neck had slid out from under her white coat. She quickly tucked it back in. "Its nothing."

"Seems rough for a…tiny th-thing like you."

Despite herself, she smiled at him. "Its my good luck charm," she said.

"May I?"

She hesitated. No one else in the hospital knew that she wore this. Jewelry beyond a wedding band was prohibited, especially for the trauma staff. Well, that wasn't entirely truthful. Rachel knew about it because they often hung out after work. Doctor Engal knew about it, too, but he had worked with Rebecca long enough to know it was harmless. She was careful to hide it.

In the end, she gave into Neil's pleading look. Gently, she slid the chain out from under her coat and held it out to him. Two dog tags hung on the end. Neil squinted as he tried to read them. "Can't…make it out. Are they y-yours?"

"No. But I've had them for ten years now."

"Who's are they?"

Rebecca quickly put them back where they belonged and winked at Neil. "Let's just say they belonged to my own guardian angel."

Neil chuckled again. "Then I won't pry."

"Get some rest. Make sure to press the call button if you need anything." Neil nodded and she left the room.

The rest of her shift went on without a hitch. The only other major patient was a young man who had been shot by a policeman. She cleaned him up and bandaged his arm while he was handcuffed to the bed. As usual, Rebecca maintained her calm composure. But the sight of the handcuffs, as had happened many times before, only made her more aware of the cool metal that touched her skin beneath the coat.

It was around one a.m. when Rebecca finally made it to her apartment. Neil Aikins had continued to make progress throughout her shift, and the gunshot victim had been recovering nicely. She grinned as his insults rang through her head. It hadn't mattered that she had saved his arm; she was working with the police and that had made her an enemy. Shaking her head to herself, she threw her keys onto the side table and headed into the kitchen.

She ate her dinner silently as she sorted through the mail and checked the paper. A couple of bills and a postcard from her mother, wishing her daughter was there with her in Hawaii. The stock market was recovering from some recent activity. Tomorrow would probably bring rain. Finding nothing of interest, she flipped on the TV to the news station. Most of the stories had to do with activities in her town. There was a brief clip about the boy who had been shot, saying that he had robbed a convenience store at gunpoint and opened fire on the cops. She giggled to herself as they played the footage taken from inside the store. His gun skills had clearly come from too many arcade trips.

It was a ritual that she practiced every night, and it hadn't changed much from when she first started it back in 1998. After everything that she had been through, who could blame her for wanting to keep herself informed? True, if she had remained a member of S.T.A.R.S., all she would have had to do was show up for work. But after the mansion incident, she couldn't bring herself to continue with a career in law enforcement. She wouldn't have made a good cop anyway.

But the news stations on TV were nearly as reliable as her colleagues would have been. The downfall of Umbrella had been a regular feature on everything from local to national and international stations. Hell, her town had implemented an "Umbrella Watch" segment for a while as new reports had come in. Soon it had been followed by WilPharma, another pharmaceutical conglomerate that tanked after an incident several years ago. Rebecca had panicked about it briefly, but it had gone away much faster than Umbrella had.

She leaned back on her sofa and turned off the TV. A part of her wished she had kept in contact with the team. But after the nightmare in the Spencer mansion and the following events of Raccoon City, everyone had went their separate ways. Last she'd heard, Chris and Jill were working for another organization, doing pretty much the same thing they'd always been doing. Barry had gone with them for a time. A couple of other names had floated around with regards to the infestation, but she'd never met them. All of them were still alive, as far as she'd heard.

Exhaustion finally hit as the clock tolled 1:30. She readied for bed and turned out the light. Before she laid her head down, she slipped the dog tags off of her neck and placed them on the nightstand. The red light from her clock reflected off the silver chain. She looked at them for a second, memories flashing through her mind. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and whispered, "Good night, Billy."

Rebecca had only been asleep for a few minutes before the nightmares came. It was the same every night. A train crash. Leeches crawling on her body. Zombies attacking her from all angles. Barely making it to the helicopter before the explosion.

She jerked herself awake. A glance at the clock told her it was 5:03. A faint light was visible outside. "Goddamn," she whispered to herself, wiping the sweat from her forehead, "am I not allowed to get a full night's sleep after ten years?"

Something cool touched her skin. At some point during her nightmare, she had grabbed the dog tags and was clutching them in her hand. As she relaxed, they slid onto her arm. Rebecca picked them up and held them close to her face. Billy Coen was still visible in the dim light from the clock. "I hope you're having better dreams than me," she hissed to the metal tags.

Replacing them on the table, she rolled over and tried to sleep some more. The nightmares from the train, the facility and the mansion were a common enough occurrence. It was a matter of shaking them off and reminding herself that she'd made it out alive. Still, she couldn't understand why she'd woken up with Billy's tags in her hands. "Oh well," she mumbled, sleep already reclaiming her.

The sun rose completely to find a still sleeping Rebecca. It was the first time it had happened in a while.