Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill. And just 'cause I'm lazy, this applies to the other three parts also.

Author's Note: And so I take a break from Impaired to bring you this little ditty, of Henry/Eileen orientation, that I've been dabbling with for a couple weeks now. Read on. And please review.

By-Product

Part 1

Eileen always checked the peephole before she opened the door now. Even in the daylight, even when she was expecting someone, even though her new apartment was in a sunny suburb many, many miles away from her old one.

Before her near-fatal beating, she had always been the trusting type, always felt like she could depend on other people. Her mother had said that her attitude would get her in trouble. And she had been right. Eileen had a bit more of her fair share of friends taking advantage of her and guys breaking her heart. But although it hurt, on a different level it was nice to feel like anyone was a potential friend.

But now Eileen always glanced twice at strangers. She felt vulnerable if anyone glanced at her. If anyone she didn't know said one word to her she would immediately put herself on the defensive. She hadn't been to a party or a club; eventually the friends she had left behind in South Ashfield stopped inviting her.

And she always-- always-- checked the peephole.

She hated it. She was used to feeling up, out in the sun, not willfully stuck under some cramped rock. She knew her personality swing was only natural, but four months was enough. She hoped it wouldn't last forever.

Not like Henry's affliction.

And it was Henry she spotted through the peephole on this rainy evening.

She and Henry had gone apartment hunting together after their ordeal and this complex had been in both their price ranges. Part of the reason Eileen liked it was because it was so different from the Heights. Besides not being located in a city, Oak Shade Apartments were each accessible from the outside, with cobblestones leading to each door from the main walkway. The neighbors were more open and friendly, and even though some had kids who could be rowdy, Eileen was never wary of them trying to mug her or any such thing.

But what Eileen honestly liked the most was that Henry lived in the apartment right across from her. Just knowing that he was near made her feel more comfortable and safe, even more so than the fact that the town police station was only a few blocks away. She could never forget how calm he had been that night, how he had stayed with her and saved her in the end. She, unfortunately, had met many other guys in her life who would have abandoned her because she slowed them down. Not Henry. Just thinking of him put a smile on her face.

But seeing him now worried her. It wouldn't have been strange to see him splotched with rain from coming over to her home from his, but he was drenched, like he had been standing in the shower. Eileen opened the door and pulled him inside.

"Jesus, Henry!" she exclaimed, leaving him in the small living room while she hurried up the narrow stairs to the bathroom. She got a towel from the closet and came back down. "What were you doing?" she asked, throwing the towel over his head. It was while she was drying his hair that she noticed the look on his face. She let go of the towel and sighed. "Again?"

He failed in an attempt to smile and pulled the terrycloth off his head. "Yeah," he said quietly, wiping water from his face.

"And you're soaked!" Eileen said with exasperation. "Why?"

"I was hoping the rain would clear my head."

"And?"

He chuckled wryly. "I'm wet and cold."

She tried to smile. "Sit down and tell me about it."

He glanced at the couch, then looked down at himself. He laughed again, brief and humorless, and said, "I'll get your furniture soaked."

She wagged a finger at him chidingly. "Then maybe you should've stayed out of the rain. Or at least changed before coming over."

"Yeah," he agreed sheepishly.

Before she knew it, more words spilled from her mouth. "If I still had some of your clothes over here, you could change into them." There was an instant where she and Henry stared at each other and she felt her eyes unmistakably widen. Unable to brush it off now, she excused herself and retreated to the kitchen to clean up her dishes from dinner.

It was awkward while she put her plate, fork, and knife in the dishwasher and searched for the dishwashing liquid. Henry had moved to the doorway, but said nothing. Eileen stole a glance at him when she popped the top off the bottle. With his wet clothes clinging to him like that, his hair slicked over his face, and looking more than a little helpless, Henry was 'very pounce-able,' as one of her friends would say. But Eileen berated herself as she squeezed the liquid in the compartment. Henry didn't need any of that right now.

She still wanted to him to talk to her about what had him standing in the rain, but not in her apartment. Or his. She closed the dishwasher, switched it on normal wash, then turned it on. Turning to Henry, she coughed nervously, then forced energy into her voice and asked, "Hey, you wanna come shopping with me?"

Having become lost in thought, Henry snapped back to attention. "I'm sorry?"

"I need to buy a new picture frame. You wanna come with me?"

"Okay." He took a step towards the door. "I gotta change first. I'll be just a minute."

She nodded. "I'll be at the front with my car in five, alright?"

"Alright." A dozen footsteps later, and the front door closed.

Eileen moved back into the living room. Henry had left the towel on one of the side tables. She picked it up, stroked the damp softness with her hands.

What a joke. She could tolerate a relationship with a total asshole for a year. But with the guy who had saved her life, she couldn't make a relationship work for more than a month.