Author's note: Story title comes from Savage Garden's song. It's lovely and I thought it suited Billy and Rebecca nicely. Check it out! Oh and the title of this chapter comes from the band T.A.T.U. This story is going to start off slow but it'll pick up soon enough. Next is Billy's part I think..

Changing note as of 08/26/10: Originally one of Rebecca's love interest in this story was named David but reviewers brought to my attention that there is already a David in the novels so to avoid confusion I renamed him.

I.

Rebecca Chambers bit into the head of her pen. She had a bad habit of always biting her pen caps for as long as she could remember. Her friends complained when she did the same to their own pens without thinking about it. The paperwork in front of her wasn't too tedious or anything. At the moment she just couldn't find it in herself to concentrate enough to get past the first couple of lines. Claire overworked herself enough as it was, so Rebecca had offered to take about half of the paperwork in concern. Now a bit of her was starting to regret it a tiny bit. The brunette sighed and pushed herself back in her chair, stretching out her sore limbs.

It was sort of ironic that she was now working with Chris's younger sister when years before she had worked with him instead. She wasn't able to talk to him and Jill much lately due to their persistent duties in the BSAA but last words from him were that they were "alive and kicking" – no pun intended.

Rebecca gave a small yawn and stood up from her chair deciding that blankly staring at the paperwork wasn't going to accomplish anything. A small break would help her concentrate more. She walked over to the couch in her fairly sized apartment. Everything in the apartment was surprisingly tidy and neat except for a small cluster in the corner of the living room where Rebecca had her things packed and ready. The abundant traveling her work called for was something she was still had a hard time adjusting to sometimes. She had been working alongside Claire at Terra-Save for a little over a year now.

The clock 'tick-tocked' from the stand, and she turned on the television with the nearby remote. Despite being now in her twenties, her childlike appearance hadn't been diminished too much. Her light brown strands of hair were short and cropped nicely to the back of her neck with bangs above bright, big almond shaped eyes. Her height hadn't increased much either but she had gained a little more weight in her body making it more suitably developed. Sadly, even though she wasn't much of a drinker to begin with, she still got carded when she tried to buy a bottle of red wine. Red wine was an exception to her. A glass a day was known to help a person's health. She was a graduated medic after all, knowing simple things like that was expected of her.

Rebecca found only news airing on at the moment so she decided to turn it off and instead get more of her things ready for her trip. Her room was more clustered than the rest of the apartment. She began to dig into one of her drawers when a flash of silver caught her eye and she stopped.

"Officially Lieutenant Billy Coen is dead."

Her words still echoed so clearly in her head after her and the falsely convicted Ex-Lieutenant's farewell. Upon returning back to Raccoon City all those years ago she had followed up on her unspoken promise and filed a report declaring his death and requesting his case be closed. When she had done so she couldn't deny the surge of warmth that filled her body realizing that she had just done something both wonderful and terrible. Billy had his freedom (although still limited obviously) now at her actions but she had also lied to officials. However, she couldn't find it in herself to regret her decision. It had felt so wholly right to her to do so.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm just a zombie now."

His voice still echoed in her head at times too. The low, velvety baritone voice of his that in the beginning had sent chills down her spine along with his just about dangerous appearance: the long slicked back dark hair, the long, intricate tribal tattoo running down his arm, his blue cool eyes, and obvious firm muscles that had so openly showed in his wife-beater. She didn't deny the fact that his appearance had frightened her during their first meeting but that could also be due to his charge and Enrico's warning. Later he was the only one during their zombie nightmare that she trusted and could depend on to come through.

'Terror certainly puts people in strange predicaments.' She mused dryly.

Her fingers brushed against the cool metal of his dog tags in lingering nostalgia. It was as if Billy Coen truly was dead. She hadn't heard word from him since their last departure, and despite at the time knowing it would probably turn out as such she still couldn't help the sickly stirring feeling in the pit of her stomach at it. Was he still alive and running? Had they caught up to him and executed him as planned?

There were so many questions and no answers which did nothing to add comfort to Rebecca's anxiety.

'He is a grown man Rebecca. I'm sure he can handle himself.' She thought to herself rolling her eyes at her stupidity.

She shouldn't be thinking about him after all. The fact that she ended up keeping his dog tags was already bad. Her fingers drew back and set to close the drawer back but she stopped herself. Instead, Rebecca grabbed the dog tags with carefulness as if they were made out of glass and clicked them in place around her neck. The metal was light but for some reason she felt like it was weighing her down. It had been so long since she had worn them. The feelings invoked were nostalgic and bittersweet as the moment she left Billy to head towards the mansion. Instantly she rebuked herself mentally.

'You shouldn't be wearing jewelry of another man's. It's not fair.'

She knew it and yet she couldn't find it in herself to dispose of them. They served as a memento of a fragment of time that was filled with such terror and horror that she was exposed to but also a moment of her life that she felt like she stood on her own two feet alongside someone who encouraged her. Her life was surrounded by people treating her like a child and watching her overly. It was different with Billy. He watched her back and at times the way he directed pet names to her was annoying but he had never treated her not like his equal. He allowed her to watch his back in return knowing she could do so, and she did – gladly.

Rebecca released a small, soft sigh, running a few fingers through her hair. Her petite figure walked over to the closet where her boyfriend placed his clothes. All she wanted was to grab one of his oversize shirts to pack on the trip so she could easily sleep in it. His clothes brought comfort to her. They all held his lingering smell in the cloth material.

It was better than dog tags of someone that was more or less a ghost of the past.

Her fingers grasped a shirt and yanked on it with a strong tug. Something else flew down and hit the floor with a soft thud. Green eyes blinked and darted downwards to the small black velvet case now on the floor. Her heart thumped in her chest and Rebecca swallowed, throat suddenly going dry.

'No way….'

She reached down and grabbed the box, posture returning back to standing position. Hesitation filled her. She shouldn't open it even if she knew what would be in the box. Her reason bickered to her how wrong it would be to open it. In the end her reason failed and curiosity got the best of her. Inside the box was a golden banded diamond ring. It was sparkly and big. Definitely not something he could so easily afford.

The noises of keys inserting and the door opening, broke Rebecca out of her trance and she quickly pushed the box back up into the top shelf along with the shirt she had previously wanted.

Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and she tried her best to ignore it. She headed out into the living room where Felix was now loosening his tie and his tan over coat was slung over his arm.

"Hey," Rebecca greeted enthusiastically all the while walking over to him and pressing a brief chaste kiss upon his lips.

He smiled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes caringly. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm later than usual. There was chaos today at the bank."

"People freak out on the day before the weekend hm?"

Felix sighed, lowly and nodded his head albeit tiredly. She knew he worked hard to get to his high position of boss at the bank location near their apartment. His brown eyes darted over to the clustered bags in the corner.

"You have everything packed?" He asked bewildered.

Rebecca smiled sheepishly. Her trip wasn't until three days from now officially but she always preferred to be prepared ahead of time. Procrastination was something she learned in college was a very bad thing.

"You know I don't like waiting till the last minute."

He laughed a very calm, soothing laugh. "Right."

Felix Henderson was a very clean and polished man a couple years older than Rebecca. His hair was a darker shade of brown cut perfectly short to the collar of his shirt. He had firm and lean muscles – nothing too overbearing, and he was most definitely handsome with his strong jaw line and broad shoulders and light almost sunkissed skin. She was fortunate to have him, any girl would.

His caramel colored eyes glanced downwards and Rebecca blinked, once, twice. His eyebrows instantly furrowed downwards and an emotion she can't interpret came across his handsome face.

"Whose are those Rebecca?"

She froze and her mind raced. Had she really forgotten to take off the dog tags before she went out to meet Felix? His confused expression and gaze directed towards the necklace answered her. She had.

"It's not important." Rebecca simply brushed off his question feeling her cheeks grow warm in embarrassment.

He didn't appear to be satisfied with her answer. His footing shifting and eyes narrowed reading the small writing on the dog tags. "Lieutenant…Billy Coen?"

Rebecca looked away unable to met his gaze. Her throat went dry. How would she explain this to him? He wouldn't understand that she had worked alongside a convicted "criminal" to escape from a horrifying zombie nightmare. Hardly anyone understood except those who experienced it themselves and lived to tell about it.

"Rebecca, look at me. Are you…seeing someone else?" Felix asked then seriously.

The brunette stiffened instantly and turned towards him to direct a glare.

'How dare he!'

"Is that what you think? I'm cheating?" She exclaimed clenching her fists at her side and growing increasingly angry. How could he accuse her of cheating? She wouldn't do such a thing to someone she cared about. It wasn't her nature.

Finding herself growing increasingly irritated by the minute, Rebecca grabbed her keys from the nearby stand and made her way towards the door. She needed a walk. Go somewhere, anywhere, to blow off steam and collect her thoughts. Her attempts to leave were thwarted when Felix grabbed her wrist stopping her, grip tightening through her attempts to get loose.

"Let me go!" She hissed angrily.

"Rebecca I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Let's talk about it."

It wasn't a suggestion. She hated being ordered around like a child. She was in her early twenties now for God's sake. It was about time people treated her like an adult despite her childlike appearance. She deserved that much.

Rebecca yanked her wrist free feeling a stinging feeling from the action. He was looking at her regretfully but it was already too late for him to take his words back. She didn't respond and with eyes narrowed and lips pursed together, she left without another word. He let her go this time.

Her feet clattered on the floor as she walked down the hallway and stairs. Upon finally coming across the front door of the building, Rebecca pushed it open and walked outside. It was getting dark outside. The sun was beginning to lower across the horizon. The air was crisp and slightly cool. She rubbed her arms and sat down at the front steps. A soft almost defeated sigh released from her lips. Eyelids lowered in contemplation as she stared absently at the cemented ground. Suddenly her phone came to life and began ringing. Rebecca pulled it out and answered.

"Rebecca, its Claire. I called to tell you that the trip was moved up to tomorrow. That alright?"

Rebecca held the phone to her ear nodding until she realized Claire wouldn't be able to see the gesture. "Yes, that's fine. I have my things ready anyways."

"Great so—" Claire began to go into protocols then and Rebecca listened to the best of her ability but she was having a hard time paying attention. Her mind was distracted, daydreaming about un-orderly things. She forced herself to focus and agreed with Claire on things before their call finally ended.

Rebecca realized then that she and Felix had dinner plans tomorrow in which he more than likely would propose seeing as she came across the engagement ring. During the call with Claire she had figured as much but it hadn't made her hesitate to accept the moved up mission, and when she had found the ring she realized now that her anxiety was from fear and not excitement. She didn't want to get married – to him anyways.

Her fingers went up and fingered the dog tags now hanging around her neck.

"You said you wouldn't judge me."

He was condemned as a criminal and now she was beginning to believe she was condemned to be trapped in her own private nightmare. The nightmares never stopped in her mind. She would at times still wake up gasping for air, eyes widened in panic as if a zombie would burst into the room at any time. It was never really over – psychologically for her. Her boyfriend couldn't relate to her horrific experiences and despite his soothing attempts at aiding her, it didn't change anything. Her comrades were all still dead, and maybe a part of her died with them too.

She stood to her feet realizing this was something she would always have to deal with. It couldn't be ignored nor ran away from. With no hesitation, Rebecca decided on what she was going to do.