Rila: I don't think I should have watched Resident Evil: Degeneration and thought I could get away without writing something for them. I forgot how much I love them together
Disclaimer: Claire/Leon would be canon if I had my way. Seriously.
Word Count: 905
"Thank-you for letting Rani come visit you."
"Not a problem." Shifting in her chair, Claire offered a small smile. "I've missed you guys."
"We've missed you too." Despite the fact that it was a video chat, the woman's smile lost none of its warmth. "Will you be coming back with Rani?"
Claire's smile dimmed. "Not just yet," she replied. "I'm still trying to work things out." Even nearly two months later, Claire was still reeling from the Wilpharma fiasco. It had floored her that Terra Save had been the reason for the breakout at the airport - for the loss of hundreds of lives. All because their idea of 'helping' had been backing Wilpharma into a corner. And even though the company had been found guilty of creating the virus in the first place, the guilt had yet to leave Claire.
"Come back when you're ready, Claire."
"Claire!" Rani's voice overlapped her aunt's, and Claire turned towards the young girl. Eyes bright with excitement, Rani continued, "Are you ready to go to the pool! You promised you would before I left!"
Claire blinked once, twice, then smiled. "I did, didn't I?" Rani nodded, and Claire's smile widened. "Give me just a minute to put my suit on, okay?"
"Okay!" With another childishly bright smile, Rani darted off. "Don't take too long, Claire!"
"I won't," Claire replied and then turned back towards the child's aunt. "Gotta go, I did make a promise, after all."
Rani's aunt laughed. "Tell Rani I'll be there to pick her up tomorrow morning."
Nodding, Claire waited until the screen went black before shutting her laptop. Snatching up her swim suit from where it lay on her bed, Claire glanced outside.
This place is beautiful. I should enjoy this.
"Claire, are you ready?" Rani's impatient call snapped the young woman out of her thoughts, and she turned.
"Be there in a minute, Rani!"
Leaning back against the pillows that she and Rani had gathered onto a single bed, Claire watched the credits roll down the screen of the small television. After a hearty dinner downstairs, Claire had proposed the idea of a 'movie night', an idea that had been met with enthusiastic acceptance from Rani. The young girl was asleep now, hands curled by her face and head pillowed on Claire's lap.
Hand falling to Rani's head, Claire stroked the child's dark hair. It was hard to imagine that the child had already been through things others her age could never dream of - and it had been part of the reason that Claire had asked if Rani wanted to come visit her, if only to see how the young girl was doing in the aftermath. Rani's aunt had spoken in length about the nightmares that had kept the poor girl up in the weeks that had followed, though the nightmares had lessened out into the occasional fits of whimpering. Regardless, Claire had no doubts that the experience would have a lasting effect on Rani.
bzzt. bzzt. bzzt.
The vibration of her phone made Claire turn to search for it, brow furrowing. Who would call this late? It was well past midnight, and Claire squinted at the overly bright screen. A name flashed beneath the string of numbers, and Claire stared at it a moment longer before hitting the 'reject' button.
Placing the phone back at her side, Claire reached for the remote. It was far past time for her to be sleeping, and she reached for Rani.
bzzzzt. bzzzt. bzzzt.
Her phone began vibrating again, the sound seeming to mirror the impatience of the man on the other end. No doubt it was something of importance if he were calling her - even more so if he found it necessary to do it in the middle of the night. Instead of hitting the button as she'd done before, Claire decided to ignore it all together.
bzzzt. bzzzt. bzzzt.
"Claire?" Rani's sleepy mumble of her name brought the red-head's attention back to her companion, and she slid her hands under Rani's arms to pull her towards the pillows. Rani rubbed at her eyes. "What's that noise?"
bzzzt. bzzzt. bzzzzt.
Claire swallowed and offered a small smile. "It's nothing, Rani. Go back to sleep." It didn't take any other sort of convincing, as Rani was quickly sleeping again, and Claire pulled the blankets up around her shoulders. Turning, Claire lifted her phone as it began ringing again, watching the name flash persistently, as if trying to coax her into answering.
bzzzt. bzzzt. bzz- The vibrating stopped, and the name flashed a few more times before disappearing. Claire stared at her phone, fingers twitching with the sudden temptation to call him back - but that would have meant explaining why she'd ignored his calls. Swallowing hard, Claire shoved her phone beneath the pillows and lay down, closing her eyes. But sleep didn't come easy, 'what ifs' and guilt chasing each other around until at last, Claire fell into an uneasy sleep.