Broken

A/N: To those who have read this previously...Hello! So i've been having serious writer's block for the previous days...i plan on uploading every 2 or 3 days because, I'll be rotating in Surgery after a month and that would mean no updates for a very long time...

I have a dilemma and I thank Mr. or Ms. Guess for the review... and uhmmmm, I like Claire and Leon, together or not and all hahaha, and I like Claire with Piers or with Steve or with an OC, she's just an amazing girl. I honestly don't like Ada but, a lot of people like her and ships her with Leon so I just can't ignore that fact, I'm sorry.

Going back to the story, I'll be doing a major tweaking! because I have a story so complex that I don't know how to connect things, so I think I'll remove the PiersXClaire part on this... forgive me =(, and It's not really because of the comment, I have been contemplating on it for a week and I'm planning to change the summary. I hope you still read on it though, even if I remove Piers' part. I do have a PiersxClaire story, and I'll place their supposedly parts here to that story. =)

Chapter 1

Claire woke up with a sore neck. She realized she fell asleep on her desk again, she sits up and stretches her arms before she rubbed her nape. Her sleepy eyes were welcomed by the bright desktop and she stifles a yawn as she figures out what was left to do.

"So much work..." she mutters as she started reading reports. Because of what Fisher has put the TerraSave through, some of the members decided to quit and she was the one left to manage everything and put the pieces back together, good thing she managed to do it, even if it took her a year to finally strengthen the NGO again.

Claire absentmindedly stared at their present quarters. Previously, TerraSave owned a whole building, but now, they operate in a room inside a building with a demanding landlord. She's still trying to regain previous fundings from UN and US FDA, right now, they survive with previous funds and some outside sponsors. She was comtemplating about their current status until her musing was cut by her phone's buzz, it seems her brother has been trying to call her a few times, she'll get a scolding she's sure.

"Hey, Chris." she said sounding tired.

"Claire... I've been trying to call you. Is something wrong? Where are you?" Her brooding brother sounded annoyed, This is better...I'd rather have him nagging me all the time than...

"Sorry, I fell asleep." She answered sheepishly. "Why are you calling? it's pretty late."

"Because Moira said you're still at the office."

"Yeah. I still need to finish some things." Claire said before yawning."There's just a lot of work."

"No. You're just doing that to yourself. Listen, I know how it feels and..." there was a sudden pause and she heard him sigh. "You feel responsible for it, I know, but..."

"It's nobody's fault." Claire said softly, she knew her brother won't stop worrying. It's been a year already. "I think it's just bound to happen." and it's just unfair.

"Claire - " Claire smiled as she heard a faint wailing on her phone. "Oh man..."

"It looks like you're on dad duties today?"

"Yeah... I'll just check on Tony, I'll call later. Take care and go home."

"Aye, sir. I'll visit Tony later, ok?"

"Alright, See you then." and her brother hung up. Her eyes were again fixed on the screen as she continues her work.

"Why am I not surprised by seeing you here?" that voice, the sound of the creaking door and shuffling materials woke Claire up, she fell asleep again, but she have finished reviewing the files sent to her and the letters she'll be giving to sponsors, so she felt accomplished and didn't mind the fact that she didn't go home. "Been going solo on that damn thing again?"

"Good morning, Moira." the redhead smiled as the younger female in the room sighed. "The secretary haven't called yet so I still have time to go home and freshen up."

Moira rolled her eyes and reached for the coffee she bought and gave it to her friend. "You need to. You're going to ruin your meeting if you look like that." Claire mentally agreed, she's wearing a white button up shirt and some jeans which were her clothes yesterday, plus the fact that she hasn't combed her hair nor had washed her face, which is not her in any way, but she just had a lot on her mind. "But hey, You're pretty so maybe you can charm them even if you go like that."

"Of course not. I still need to wear a semiformal thing." then Claire grimaced. "Which I was supposed to look for yesterday... Jesus..."

"And you didn't, because you were here." Moira shakes her head in disbelief. "Holy crap, right?"

"You said I still look pretty?" Claire kids but she was actually thinking of a way to make herself presentable.

"Well, I guess I brought something that you can wear." Moira smiled and Claire looked at her like she was her guardian angel. "My mom was buying a dress...for her, and she bought the wrong size, I know you're gonna like it because it has some red fabric on." she said before reaching for one of the paper bags she brought and gave it to Claire.

"Thanks, Moira." The redhead said as she opens the bag, inside was a red, sleeveless, button up shirt, Claire sighed. "And a skirt?"

"Yes...So no bikes. I'll take the bike for you." Moira snickered.

"You're lucky I love the shirt's color, and no bikes for you, young lady."

"I know... Seeing how you always leave the house in anything that's red. Oh well...at least I tried."

"Good Morning, Guys!" A cheery greeting disrupts them, that was Nico, one of the IT experts. "I have some donuts ." He said as he raised the box he's carrying.

"Damn, Nico. That's why you're the best!" Moira said as she walks over to him and sneaks at the box he's holding. "Claire, you need to go get dressed."

"Good luck, Ms. Redfield!" Nico cheered before he swats Moira's hand on his favorite donut flavor. "That one is mine, sorry." Claire smiled at them as she watched them banter, she then heads to the bathroom to fix herself up.

Claire washed up and decided to do a bit of make up, just the subtle one, she hated dressing up and face coloring, she hates being the face of TerraSave actually, but what can she do? She reached for a hairband and tied her fiery hair into half before she changed, she folds the sleeves up to her elbow and unfastened the first two buttons of the shirt. She was uncomfortable with the skirt, since it's a bit tight and she have deduced that Moira's mom probably bought it for Moira herself, and she hates skirts (much like the redhead does), to avoid wearing it, her young friend can easily say that Claire needed it. How thoughtful...

"Wow, Miss Redfield, the dress suits you." Nico said as he stared at Claire who walks out of the bathroom and Moira gets another donut, giving a thumbs up to Claire.

"Thanks, Nico." she smiled before she went to her desk and gathered her stuff. "I need to go and meet the Asec. you two wait for the others and work out the rest of the papers." Claire glanced at her watch. "Miranda's coming late today but she has the drafts. I'll see you guys later."

"Yes, Ma'am." Moira salutes mockingly and laughs, while Nico frowns as he noticed that the donut he likes is missing.

Claire went out of their office and fished out her phone, she looked back at the door leading to their quarters and smile, she was glad people who understand their cause are still there, she eyed at her phone and sighed, she needs to be strong for them, for TerraSave and for the victims they can save.

While on the road, she turns on her bluetooth earphone and receives a call from the person she was meeting. Her eyes were glued in front as she answers. "Hello! Ms. Redfield, speaking."

"Hello, Miss Redfield, this is Ms. Clarke, Asec. Gibbons's secretary. I was tasked to inform you that the asec wished to cancel his meeting with you today."

"What?" she was surprised. "Wait, why?"

"He was called to attend a UN conference in Dubai. Sorry. Ms. Redfield?"

"But... When will he be back? When can we reschedule the meeting?"

"I'm not really sure, Ms. Redfiled. I will inform him once he arrived. Again, we're sorry, have a nice day." And she can hear the line cut.

"Shit." she mutters. Why is everything not going her way today. She was about to steer her wheel back, until she remembers she needs to pass by the grocery for some toiletries. Claire decided to proceed in the nearest mart she can get to. After parking, she stops her engine, reached for the glove compartment to get the list of things she needs to buy.

Claire rummaged the compartment for the list, but she remembers leaving it at her table, and she cursed silently, thinkingabout hiw wrong her day is.

"Thief! Oh my God! Thief!" her reverie was halted when she heard a woman scream, and right before her eyes, she saw a man, running, he was carrying a red bag which he probably stole. She immediately unfastened her belt and goes down her car.

"Hey!" she yelled, the guy just looked and continues to run, she bit her lip in annoyance and decided to chase the guy, but then she realized, she was forced to wear stilettos and she can't outrun him, suddenly she had an idea, and she hopes it will work.

Meanwhile, in the same city...

"I love you..." she said as he held her in his arms, he smiled, he knew she wouldn't do the things they blamed on her, he knew somehow she still has a heart that cared.

"Ada...I..." before he can say something, she pushed him and reached for her ropegun and shoots on a helicopter's handle. "What?"

"Thanks, Leon..." she said with a smirk as she was carried on air. He just watched her go, it's not like he can make her stay, even if she said that... she never stayed...

It was morning, he knows, somehow he can hear the chirping birds if he gets to focus on it; he can feel slits of warmth probably from the sunlight passing through the slim spaces of the close blinds. He's fucking tired and he's not going up yet.

The annoying buzz of his phone had him open one eye. He was lying on his stomach and he rolls over to get closer to his stupid phone, draping an arm over his eyes in the process, he thinks it was his alarm and ignoring it would cease the torture.

But it didn't stop, and then he realized, this is reality and he should answer the call, he sits up, one hand raking his glorious hair and the other reached for his phone.

"Hello, Leon." the other person on the line said. "How are you?"

"Good morning, Hunnigan. So...What's the job this time?" he stood up from his bed, about to walk near his closet, he slept with some jogging pants, no shirt.

"Actuallly, there's no job." and that stopped Leon from his tracks. "The men in suits from the higher ups got pleased with your previous mission with the BSAA, Arias was a wanted terrorist, not only here but globally."

"Well isn't that nice, Did you call to give thanks on their behalf?" he said with a sarcastic tone.

"Yes and about your vacation...it was approved."

"So that means I can take the day off, legally?" Leon smirks, he was kidding. He walks towards his window and opened the blinds.

"That depends, you can have a vacation but that doesn't mean you can't be called anytime."

"I figured. How about you? Are you getting a day off too?"

"I wish I can, but I had to deal with men in suits." he heard her laugh on the other line.

"Better than dealing with the living dead, huh? Tell me when's your day off, maybe we can hang out and have some fun." He said as he watched people from his window, one woman with a dog waves at him, and he smiled at her.

"Hah. Really, Leon? Spend your vacation wisely and remember, even if you're on vacation, you can't ignore this phone. Enjoy." The call was done before he can say 'Thank you' or 'Bye', but nonetheless he decided to wash his face, take a cold shower and think of a way to spend this day off.

He turns on the shower and allows the cold water to drip on his body. He sighed, he dreamt of her again, he saw her months ago, they both aged, but she still has that beauty and mystery with her, she never changed. He loves her and when she said the same, then he thought about their goose chase and he's getting tired of it.

After the shower, Leon turns his TV on for a bit of an update around his surroundings, he was welcomed with morning news talking about the weather or the shitty politics, both of which, he doesn't care about. He glanced around the room and saw an empty bottle of alcohol near the table top. He remembers how he drowned his sorrows with alcohol a few days ago, sometimes he needed a break from his reality.

He dries his hair with a towel and puts a shirt on, after that he heads to his kitchen to get water from his fridge and upon opening it, he was welcomed with a cold, empty fridge with at least one bottle of water inside. And he had an inkling of what to do, he needs to buy food or something he can put inside his fridge, he might take a lady in his flat and there should be something there to eat, except for the obvious of course.

Leon drove towards the nearest mart he can get, he's not yet that familiar with the city, he lives here but spends most of his time out of his state or sometimes out of his country. He used his pick up truck, since his Ducati won't be that useful in carrying groceries.

Inside the mart, the agent can't help but smirk as he felt some stares of the opposite gender, some were even a decade younger than he is, no one will probably think he's already hitting his forties soon. He also looks around and somehow envy got to him as he saw families shopping, when he was young, he thought he'd already have children at his current age.

"Hi." one lady greets and she winks at him which he returned with a smooth smile before he gets a shopping cart, he laughs at the fact of how he looked domesticated as he pushed the cart making his way towards the canned goods, he wanted to buy fresh ingredients but what the hell can he do with that, he's not a good cook, and no one will cook it for him, which reminds him of the sad life he has now. At least he looks good.

Leon fills up the cart he's pushing along the aisle with necessities he'll be needing the following days. As he finished putting all the items on his list, he went and fell in line at the counter while not missing a glance from the lady manning the cashier. He gets his card and paid the items in his cart. Being in the government meant having the means for basic necessities and much more, but the thing is you're not sure if you're still alive to enjoy such benefits when you get sent to a mission.

He picks up the bags and walked towards his truck. He dumped the groceries on the bed of the truck and trotted back to the front. He entered the truck, inserted the key into ignition and was about to start the engine when suddenly a commotion started that got his attention. Leon decided to get out and see what that is all about but instead saw a man running towards his direction. "What the hell?" he muttered.

"Help! He stole my purse!" A woman desperately shouted as she tried to follow the thief.

"Hey!" Leon yelled and started to give chase all the while thinking "Here I thought this would be an ordinary day". He's capable to subdue the man without any weapon and was thinking he should've brought his Ducati if he knew something like this would happen. Of course without any surprise left, the thief brought out a gun and began shooting at Leon. He had to take some cover as bullets flew past him.

"Hah! You won't get me!" the thief exclaimed with a condescending tone. "You won't -" he wasn't able to finish what he was about to say as something black - Is that a shoe? - struck the thief square on the face causing the man to be disarmed and stopped short in his tracks. He dropped on the floor lying in agony and the stolen purse scattered on his side.

Leon paused briefly getting a good look at the scene. The owner of the purse came running, accompanied by the guards who then took custody of the thief. "Thank you so much, Sir." she said to Leon as she kept on thanking him. The woman then left the vicinity as the guards brought the thief for questioning.

"Oh crap..." Someone said, he gazed back at the scene and was looking down when he heard some footsteps as a figure started approaching. The figure was running bare footed. He slowly brought his eyes up seeing long, slender legs covered with black fitted skirt and topped with a red shirt.

"Leon?" a seemingly familiar voice resounded in his ear. The voice had matured over the years that passed. Her face is still beautiful as before but has a distinct touch of toughness chiseled by the countless battles she had, her fiery red hair which is now shorter than Leon's memory could muster. The woman stood in front of him, a smile plastered on her face as she walks closer, with one hand carrying the shoe's other pair.

"Claire?" He mouths her name and it feels foreign to say it because it has been years since they last saw each other.

"Oh..." Claire stuttered as she remembered her shoe and walks over to retrieve the missing pair. Leon watched as she slipped them on, almost losing her balance when she tried to fit the last one in. She looked around carefully which perplexed the agent. She suddenly moves closer, too close for a little bit of comfort but gave him a whiff of her elegant perfume. "Are you here on a mission? Did I compromise you?" she whispered, worried eyes boring a deep hole straight at his.

"Yeah...The thief was on our wanted list and I was following a lead." He said with a stern look and a matter-of-fact voice. Claire wasn't able to read Leon clearly as he was just playing with her. She then gave off an apologetic look which made him broke into laughter. "I'm kidding. He's just a random thief. I'm not on a mission."

"Jeez." she said before tapping his shoulder. "I thought I really did it now and blew up your case potentially erasing America from the map."

"No, of course, you didn't. By the way, nice shot. Shifting from throwing knives to throwing shoes?" He smirks as she looked at him with a knowing look, it seems that the scene is both familiar to them. It seemed like forever ago, they were running around Raccoon City just trying to survive and escape the damned city.

"Well, a knife is fine and dandy but the shoe's all I got." she said broking into a grin. "Anyway, how's life been treating you?" both of them walking beside each other now.

"Been pretty busy lately but I'm fine." Leon said as he noticed her lips curled slightly. Maybe because he sounded reserved now, not like before when they were young and naive. He knows he sounded like he didn't trust her but this is probably due to the effect his job had with his personal life. But this is Claire, the girl he was with, when the disaster in Raccoon City happened, the one he clawed out of hell with to see the light of the day again.

"What about you? Been busy saving the world?" Leon asked, giving her a smile hoping to ease down the tension building around them.

"I'm not the one saving the world, it's you and my brother." somehow it worked as she returned the favor and smiled back at him. "But I'm fine."

"So...What's with the skirt?" he knows she's a biker chick so skirts are not her style and he's right because she snorts and taps his shoulder playfully.

"I'm supposed to be in a meeting with a UN official today but he bailed out, said he had more pressing matters to attend to than meet and discuss some concerns with me."

"Dumped?"

"Yeah. I was stood up and it was heartbreaking." she said sarcastically before laughing. "What are you doing here?"

"What most people do, get groceries. I was out of town for a couple of months and when I was able to finally go home, I was welcomed with an empty fridge."

"Aww, poor you!" Claire snickered. "That's even more heartbreaking." Claire has her eyes up front and said. "I'm starting to see some pattern here. First, a chance meeting in a zombie plagued city. Seeing you in that zombie infested airport and here we are, no zombies for a mile away but a ruckus caused by some thug brought us together." Claire said with a ghost of a smile.

She was right, as Leon vividly recalled. The both of them never met in any ordinary circumstances. "I guess you're right, we will never meet normally." He replied with a thoughtful look. "I guess in order to have a normal encounter, we should meet just as ourselves."

"What do you mean?"

"Want to grab some lunch?" he was hoping she'll agree. "Can I be a fine replacement for that official?"

She gave him a bright smile. "You know, I was about to have a free lunch." she emphasized the word 'free' and he nods.

"Of course, My treat.

A/N: Sorry about the edit and thanks!