Splash

Finally, the long overdue chapter. I'm sure a simple sorry won't make up for the long wait but as I said earlier in one of other fics, my main focus wasn't on this story. Feeling bad for not updating this fic, I took the whole day to watch nothing but mermaids as inspiration and came up with this chapter. No Helena just yet though, but she will come in soon. I want to start this off right and not just jump into it and ruin the whole thing. Again, I apologize for not updating but here's hoping you'll forgive me with this chapter. Enjoy.

Disclaimer- I own nothing.

~Two

A mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The first stories appeared in ancient Assyria, in which the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover.

"Boo!"

Leon jumped in his seat in fright. "Jesus…" he breathed out as laughter filled his ears. He placed a hand to his chest, willing his rapidly beating heart to still. Small hands were on either of his shoulders. "Gotcha" a feminine voice cheered.

"Claire…" the male sighed as his partner took seat upon his desk. He rubbed his face, groaning. The spiffy redhead smiled. "Sorry. I couldn't resist when I saw that you were so drawn into what you were reading, I just had to."

"Glad you got it out of your system Redfield" Leon muttered with bitterness in his voice. His shoulder was shoved. "Oh relax" Claire chuckled, pink glossy lips pulling back in a smile. She swung her long shapely legs, making herself comfortable. "So tell me Kennedy, what's it like to be a hero?"

Leon gave a small sigh as he leaned back into his chair, placing his feet upon the woman's legs. Knowing she referred to last night's rescue incident, he gave a small scoff. "I'm no hero." He folded his hands into his lap and looked forward; reminiscing in the rescue but more in the fish tail he had seen.

"Stop being so modest" Claire commented, smacking his booted feet. "You saved a kid's life. I'd say that's pretty heroic." Returning to his senses, Leon gave a shrug. "I did what any other person would do."

Claire leaned back, propping herself on her elbows, "Right." She threw her head back with a sigh. Leon took notice of how weary it sounded, "Late night?" The redhead gave another sigh, one of confirmation as she sat upright. "I understand my brother's motive, but, to date one of his friends… I don't know."

Leon chuckled softly, giving a small shake of his head. Chris was still attempting to set her up with one of his military friends huh? He raised a brow as his partner smacked his legs. "It's not funny" she said in a whine. "It's exhausting. I have a date with one of them practically every night."

This only made the blond chuckle more. "You know all you have to do is just pick one to get Chris off your back, so why don't you do it?" Claire gave a shrug, lips out in a small pout. "I don't know."

Oh, women. Leon shook his head, giving an exasperated sigh. "Then why complain? I thought women enjoyed dating more than one man before settling down." Claire rolled her eyes, groaning in anger. "Ugh, you just don't get it."

"You're right about that" the blond commented. He could just feel the daggers she sent his way, great. He sighed. "What did I say?" His answer was silence. Oh boy. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing" was the cold reply. Now he'd done it. Every man knew this, when a woman said nothing it actually meant something. He gave another sigh, this one deep. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being an inconsiderate prick."

"It's not that. It's just… it's hard being a woman. Men always look at us like we're just a big piece of meat, and I… I meet so many of them that it seems like all men are chauvinistic pigs with the biggest egos, that I'm just…" she gave a restless sigh, "I'm just so sick of them."

"Gee, thanks" Leon commented. Feeling her sour mood lift up, Claire chuckled. "Oh shut up Leon. You know I didn't mean you." She gave his legs another smack. How was it he was able to lift her spirits and make her laugh whenever she grew upset? It must be why she enjoyed their talks and working with him. He was like a brother to her. It was just unfortunate it took having him naked in her bed for her to realize it.

"So who's the lucky guy tonight?" he questioned. "Piers Nivans" Claire replied. "Chris said I'd really like him, but he says that about all of them." Leon gave a shrug, "Maybe you will. He could be 'the one'." Claire laughed on his usage of quotation marks with his fingers on those two words and shook her head. "Enough about me" she said then, "How are things with the girlfriend?"

It was Leon's turn to grow melancholic as his face dropped. His eyes went astray as he sighed heavily. He hadn't seen his woman in a few weeks. As usual, she came and went. It was starting to grow tiresome. The male couldn't help but feel as if he were merely being used. "Let's not talk about her" he replied after a few moments of silence.

"Sorry" Claire spoke in a low voice. She hated when he acted this way. She hated to see him so sad and lonely. She hadn't meant to ask about Ada, it was a slip of the tongue. Well, best to change the subject. "So, about your heroic act last night" she started, "You were there because of what's been going on with you lately, right?"

Lately, the blond had felt a strong pull towards the ocean. It was something he just couldn't explain. It was as if something were calling, beckoning him. The more he tried to fight it the more the desire grew. Setting foot on the sandy beaches seemed to be the only way to satisfy the need of the ocean.

The male simply nodded. Claire glanced toward the monitor of his computer and raised a brow. "Leon, did you see something there, in the water maybe?" Leon blinked. "What do you mean?" he questioned.

Smirking, the red head motioned to the computer screen with a bob of her head. The blond followed her gesture, catching sight of the picture of a mermaid. He had forgotten he had been reading up on mermaids. Leaving his cool and laid off demeanor, he scrambled to sit up straight, exiting the window of the internet page.

Claire laughed at his actions, "Geez, you'd think there was a fire in here." Leon cleared his throat and settled back down, a red blush darkening his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right. But come on Leon, mermaids, in New York?" She raised a brow. He had to be kidding. "It's a joke, right? There's no such thing as mermaids." Taking in the incredulous look on the woman's face, Leon chuckled at how ludicrous the idea of having seen a mermaid really was.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" he said in agreement. "It's pretty silly." And it was, really. There wasn't a chance he had actually seen a mermaid in the ocean, none whatsoever. It was like Claire had said, they didn't exist. But if it wasn't a mermaid, what the hell was it?

Claire's smile faltered at the frown on the male's lips. "What is it?" Leon crossed his arms over his chest, giving a small sigh. "It's just that…" he trailed off, second guessing if he should tell the truth. It couldn't have been a mermaid, could it?

Claire slid off the table, growing concerned at the solemn look on his face. "What?" He shook his head. "No… it's… it's nothing." The red head scoffed, "Liar." It then hit her. "Wait, you really do believe you saw a mermaid, don't you?" Leon shook his head again, "No…. but I saw something."

"Kennedy! Redfield! What are you doing? I don't pay you to sit around! Get to work!" Both Leon and Claire stirred at the sudden booming voice; one belonging to Captain Quentin. Also known as the man of few words, he was the leading officer of the Patrol Division, having joined the force twenty years ago.

He was a tall man with the build of a thirty year old, received from his years of service in the military, making him someone who had seen it all and done it all. He was a strong man, one who seldom showed emotion, causing all who knew him to believe he was a bitter heartless man, yet still respected.

He watched the two young officers; his brown eyes seeming scolding and cold. "Well get to it then!" Leon stood erect, the chair sliding back behind him. "Yes, captain" he spoke as Claire circled around his desk to reach hers which stood opposite his. The two took hold of their assigned police hats and left, off to start their daily patrol.

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