When the two women parted, a blush stained Claire's face as the people gathered in the room all gave little hoots, Jill walking over to them and punching Alice lightly in the shoulder.
"Bout damn time!"
Grunting at the playful punch, the brunette turned and caught the other woman in a headlock, ruffling her long blonde hair. Letting out a rather undignified snort, Jill struggled against the hold, an arm going around Alice's waist, trying to upset the other woman's balance. Stepping back from the pair, Claire simply chuckled and shook her head, watching as they eventually parted with grins. Chris, from his spot across the room, could only stare, a bit dumbfounded at what had transpired between his sister and the other woman. Luther stepped over as the small group dispersed again and went about heading to their rooms for some sleep.
"Damn…guess this means I gotta stop flirting with ya, huh Alice?"
"Ah, you know I wasn't into you like that, Luther. You're like a brother to me."
Grinning, the ex-basketball star slung an arm around the woman's shoulders and gave her a friendly hug, which was returned by way of a squeeze to his waist.
"You two look good together."
K-Mart, who was standing next to Chris, was simply watching the women she viewed as family with a happy smile, having known of their attraction to one another since Nevada, but not said a word for fear of Alice running off, or Claire getting mad. Coming over to the pair, the teenager wrapped them both in tight hugs, simply grinning at them, which caused a whole new blush to spread over Claire's cheeks, and another smirk to curl Alice's lips.
"Goodnight guys, see you in the morning!"
Deciding to have mercy on the still heavily blushing redhead, Alice jerked her head towards the hallway, and started to walk off. Following happily along behind her, the younger woman shook her head and laughed a bit.
"What's so funny?"
"Why do I feel like that Jill, K-Mart and Chris were betting on if you would actually kiss me or not."
"Wouldn't surprise me. Of course, I'm sure Jill won that one, because your brother looked absolutely flabbergasted."
Snorting in laughter at the look of incredulous shock that had indeed bloomed on Chris' face at seeing his younger sister lock lips with another woman, Claire nodded in agreement. The brunette walked with her until they reached the door to the room that had been designated as her place to stay. Turning, Claire put her hands on the older woman's shoulders, green eyes meeting blue as a gentle smile curled her lips.
"Guess I'll see you in the morning?"
"Course you will, red. You aren't getting rid of me now."
Chuckling a bit, Claire slipped her arms up and around Alice's neck as the other woman circled her waist with her deceptively muscular arms.
"Goodnight, Alice."
"Gnite."
Leaning forward, the older woman again pressed their lips together for a few moments before extracting herself from the redhead's arms to go to the room she shared with Becky. Inside, she leaned against the closed door and let out a sigh, a goofy smile curling her face as everything that had transpired over the last few months finally settled in on her. Pulling off her boots and weapon belts, and changing into some more comfortable clothes that had been left behind in the bunker, Alice settled down into her bed. Since ridding herself of the T-Virus, the ex-umbrella operative found herself sleeping much easier and much more sound at night, though the occasional nightmare still happened, minus the floating objects and crippling headaches when she woke up. Pulling the rough blankets up over her, Alice yawned, and rolled onto her side, promptly falling asleep. A scream roused her from her sleep a bit later on in the night, and she sat upright, grabbing a blade from the belt hung next to the bed. When the fog cleared from her vision, she was greeted by a sight that had her up and sitting on Becky's bed in two seconds. The girl was caught in the midst of what appeared to be a vivid nightmare, and Alice reached out, gently shaking her awake.
"Becky! Its okay! It's me!"
The scream also alerted Claire, who burst into the room, gun drawn and aimed inside, ready to eliminate any threat there may be. When she saw Alice rocking the now awake and sobbing girl, gently running her fingers through blonde curls, she sighed and stepped inside. Laying her gun on the bedside table, the redhead met the older woman's eyes in silent question.
"She's okay. Nightmare. It happens once or twice a week…though with everything she's been through it doesn't surprise me."
Becky, unable to speak through her slowly quieting sobs, looked up at Alice, the pair of them communicating strictly through sign language, which Claire made a mental note to learn at some point.
'Who is she, mommy?'
'This is Claire, you met her yesterday, remember? She's my….special friend.'
Nodding and leaving it at that, the girl laid her head against Alice's chest and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, and letting the hand stroking her hair slowly lull her back to sleep. Once she was sleeping again, the brunette laid her back down and covered her with the blanket before moving to sit on her bed. Claire joined her, looking over at the girl in the bed opposite them with a sad smile.
"I know you said she was a clone…but it's still so damn sad to see a kid having nightmares because of the fucked up world we have thanks to Umbrella."
"Tell me about it. At least Wesker isn't going to come back with some crazy mutation this time. Well, I hope not, anyways. I've shot that man in the head enough."
The two shared a quiet laugh at the expense of the blonde Umbrella chairman who'd finally been dispatched, and by his own arrogance no less. Thinking back on the facility caused the small smile tugging Alice's lips to slowly vanish as she seemed to remember who, or rather what, she actually was.
"What's wrong?"
"I…just can't believe that I'm a clone…like Becky. Like all those other ones that were trapped and killed in the simulations in Russia…"
"There's no one quite like you, and you know that."
"Claire…"
A quick kiss quieted the other woman's protests, and Claire smiled at her when she pulled back to speak.
"We should sleep…we can talk in the morning, okay? Just don't forget…you're Alice. You're the woman who saved the world. You're the woman I care about, and that Becky calls mom. You might be a clone, but there is NO ONE like you."
Reaching out, Alice put a hand behind the younger woman's neck and pulled her into another quick kiss, and when they parted again, she was smiling again.
"Thank you."
Returning the smile, Claire got up and picked up her gun, returning to her room for the remainder of the night. Alice laid back down, and allowed her thoughts to drift away until she fell asleep again, the rest of the night quiet and uneventful. When morning rolled around, Becky was up before the brunette, as was becoming the normal, and moved over to shake the woman awake. Giving an undignified snort when she was roused from her sleep, Alice blinked a few times before the slight blur of sleep left her vision.
"Morning mommy."
"Morning."
Sitting up, the ex-operative stretched and yawned a bit, slowly working the stiffness from her muscles. Going over to her hearing aides, the girl pulled them from the charger and fixed them in her ears. Alice got up, and put on her normal clothing again before taking Becky's hand, the two of them heading down the hall to collect Claire. The older woman knocked on the door and waited, and after a few moments the door opened to reveal a sleep-disheveled Claire Redfield.
"Well, you look lovely this morning, red."
"Oh shush, superwoman."
Grinning at the apparent nickname she'd been given, Alice told the younger woman to get herself situated and come down to the main area for food. Grunting in agreement, it was only maybe twenty minutes before Alice and Becky found that they had been joined by the redhead, who didn't look much more awake than she had before. Chuckling at seeing the normally sharp witted woman so groggy, the brunette passed her a cup of coffee.
"Small luxuries, right?"
Picking up the cup, Claire took a large drink and let out a low sigh as it warmed her body and began to chase the sleep from her brain. The three of them ate in silence, with Alice's mind swirling with what the people living within the bunker had to decide on later in the day once everyone was awake.
"You okay, Alice?"
"Yeah…just thinking."
"About?"
"Nothing that can't wait until later."
When Claire lifted an eyebrow at her, Alice sent her what she hoped was a reassuring smile before going back to the food in front of her, and her thoughts. Becky finished her food first, and once permission was granted, got up and went to find her small group of friends.
"She's such a good kid."
When the brunette didn't respond, the ex-convoy leader reached over and put a hand on top of hers, breaking her out of her stupor.
"What's going on, Alice?"
"Just trying to break everything that has to happen today down. We have to decide on somewhere to head towards…can't live underground forever. Our supplies are getting kinda low, so we have to get shit moving along."
"You really did pay attention in Nevada, huh?"
An undignified snort was Alice's response, and once the two women finished breakfast, they gathered everyone in the main room of the underground bunker.
"Alright people…we have to get moving. We all knew we couldn't live here forever, and the time has come to decide on somewhere to try and make into a permanent home. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
A few people tossed up the idea of trying to settle in a large city, with others saying that a large city was too much of a target for any of the undead that may still exist. Grunting, Alice spoke up again, agreeing that a large city was too much of a risk.
"I say we find somewhere small, but close enough to a big city that we can still make supply runs when we need to."
Smiling, Claire watched the older woman talk to everyone, listening to any and all suggestions before making a decision. The group agreed on settling in a decently large town, in California, all the way across the country. The reasoning behind the choice, was that there were plenty of big cities near by, as well as the ocean for fishing.
"Alright, we leave first thing in the morning, so be sure to get all packed up and get all your stuff situated."
Everyone dispersed to go about their duties for the day, including the redhead, as she headed off towards the garage to help make sure all the vehicles were ready for the next morning. Blowing out a breath, Alice seated herself at one of the tables, leaning back against the wall behind her. It wasn't until a little later, that she wandered off into the garage, smiling at seeing Claire bent over a car, head and hands under the hood. Walking over, she made sure her body was visible if the redhead looked over out of the corner of her eye before gently resting a hand on her lower back.
"Hey red."
"Hey. Everything okay?"
"That's what I was about to ask you. How are the vehicles?"
"Most of them are okay, but this one is about shot. It looks like someone just gave this thing hell and didn't bother to take care of it."
Grunting, Alice poked her head under the hood as well, letting Claire show her everything wrong with the hefty black truck. The brunette sighed when the younger woman informed her it would take weeks to fix the vehicle completely.
"Damn it…this was one of our biggest cars. I might have to go try to find something to replace it with."
"Alice, we have plenty of cars…do you really think we need to worry about it?"
Standing upright, Claire moved around and grabbed a few tools from the box placed next to the car before turning back and diving back in. Watching the other woman work on the car caused a smile to curl Alice's lips before she gently grabbed her hips and pulled her back a bit. Standing again, the redhead lifted an eyebrow at the interruption, one hand moving to rest on the older woman's shoulder.
"What's up?"
"We're leaving in the morning…I wouldn't waste any more time on this if it's not going to work."
"I guess you're right…"
Alice smiled a bit before the sound of one of the cars failing to start caught both of their attention, and the women moved over with Claire immediately ducking under the hood to offer her aid. Leaning over, the brunette kissed her cheek before moving off to the opposite side of the garage, approaching one of the men standing there.
"Hey, how's that special project going?"
"Both vehicles are being brought in now, actually."
"Good job. I appreciate it."
Nodding, the man walked off, leaving Alice to grin as a familiar yellow vehicle and motorcycle were brought into the garage via the lift. After checking to make sure they still ran, the older woman looked over towards where the redhead was talking with another of the group's mechanics.
"Hey red! Come over here, I have something for you!"
"Just a sec!"
Leaning on the wall and crossing her arms, Alice waited, a bit impatiently, for Claire to come over and join her. The wait wasn't long, as within a few minutes the younger woman was by her side with a curious expression on her face.
"Alice?"
"I have a surprise for you…."
Blinking and letting out a chuckle when her eyes were covered, she let herself be led by the woman behind her. Alice led her around the wall into the area with the lift, and before she uncovered her eyes, she grinned against her ear.
"Keep those eyes closed until I say so, red."
Removing her hands from the redhead's eyes, Alice slipped her arms around the woman's waist, squeezing a bit before resting her chin on her shoulder and telling her to open her eyes. Claire did as told, and when her eyes landed on the familiar form of the yellow hummer she'd driven through the Nevada desert, her jaw hung open.
"How did you…"
"It was a good car, seemed a shame to just leave it sit in the sand, right?"
The taller woman felt arms around her neck after a moment as Claire turned and pulled her into an ecstatic kiss. Grinning against the redhead's lips, she slipped her arms around the younger woman's waist again, pulling her close. The longer the two of them were pressed together, the less Claire seemed to remember about the large yellow vehicle just behind her, alongside Alice's motorcycle. The brunette let out a low sigh as she pulled away, resting her forehead against the ex-convoy leader's.
"You're welcome?"
Laughing, the younger woman grinned and put her hands on the older woman's shoulders before turning around and moving over to the hummer again, pulling the door open and seating herself on the black leather. The slick feel of the seat and steering wheel caused a grin to curl her lips, and she found herself reaching towards the ignition, turning the key and starting the car. Alice simply leaned against the wall, watching the woman she cared for with a gentle smile on her lips. Claire turned the car back off so she didn't waste the gas, and climbed back out, closing the door behind her before walking back over to the other woman.
"This is amazing! I can't believe you managed to find the hummer!"
"Like I said…was a good car. Not to mention I have…fond memories…of us…in the back…"
Blushing, the redhead smacked her on the shoulder, to which the taller brunette simply laughed and kissed her forehead. A loud scream tore through the air, and the two women immediately rushed from the garage, guns drawn, into the main living area of their bunker. Freezing in place for a split second as she saw undead making their way in through a hole in the wall, it was like a switch flipped inside the older woman. In seconds, she was firing off shots, yelling for everyone to grab what they could carry and get to the garage. Claire helped everyone get what they could, killing off some of the undead as well, before she saw Becky running down the hallway back to Alice's room.
"Becky!"
Mentally smacking herself, the redhead reminded herself that the blonde child was deaf, and took off following her. Seeing the girl go into the bedroom, Claire realized what she was getting. Grabbing the charger to her hearing aides off the dresser, Becky turned around, allowing the redhead to pick her up. Holding her gun in one hand and Alice's adopted daughter in the other arm, Claire started back down the hall, only to curse when it was blocked by a group of undead.
"Fuck!"
Gunshots rang out as the redhead emptied her Glock into the approaching zombies, before shoving it into her pants and backing up until the wall met her back. Becky balled her hands in Claire's shirt and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the grotesque creatures any more than she had to. Loud gunshots rang out behind the zombies, and one by one they dropped to the ground as Alice came to their aid.
"Come on!"
As the last zombie dropped, the redhead ran forward, and the three of them headed towards the garage. Once inside, Claire secured Becky in the back of the hummer and climbed into the driver's seat as Alice mounted the motorcycle. All the vehicles were moved onto the lift, and the button was pressed that would send them up to the surface. Becky sat up on her knees on the bench seat in the back of the hummer, looking out the barred windows at her mother sitting on the motorcycle. Turning her head, Alice managed a small smile and put her hand on the protective bars from the outside, with the little girl smiling back. It was a few minutes before the lift hit the surface, and when it did, the brunette revved her bike and took off, the hummer following behind her with the rest of their group. Once they were decently far away from the bunker, Alice motioned them to pull off into the parking area of a nearly destroyed strip of stores. Claire pulled the hummer into the parking lot and stopped next to the motorcycle, and as soon as it was unlocked, Becky was out and had her arms wrapped around Alice's waist. Still slightly unused to the girl, she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze as Claire climbed out of the hummer.
"Everyone stay close! We need to be ready to move if the need arises!"
Looking over, and seeing Claire drop into convoy leader mode again, Alice smiled and took Becky's hand, walking over to stand next to her. Seeing the movement out of the corner of her eye, the redhead sent the older woman a smile before asking a few of the people trained with firearms to check out the stores for anything of use. Moving aside to assist them, Alice pulled her gun from its holster at her thigh and entered the clothing store ahead of her. Hearing Jill and Chris speaking to Claire behind her, the brunette grabbed as much clothing as she could, shoving it into bags and hauling it back outside where it was loaded into the military truck they had for supplies. Deciding to stay where they were for the moment to let everyone get their bearings, Alice plopped down on one of the stone parking blocks and blew out a breath.
Claire joined her a few moments later, wordlessly offering the older woman a lit cigarette, which she accepted and immediately took a long drag from. The pair sat in silence, both letting what had just happened register in their minds, watching as Jill, Chris and K-Mart helped get supplies into the large truck in the middle of the group. Sensing that the other woman didn't want to talk about what had just happened, Claire reached over and laid a comforting hand on Alice's leg, sending her a small smile. Eventually standing when they flicked away their cigarette butts, the two women moved back over to their small group to see what supplies had been found, when Alice froze. The brunette motioned Claire to keep going as she stopped, eyes scanning the area around her. A growling mass suddenly rocketed into her side, sending the pair crashing through the window of one of the storefronts, the rotten floor giving out under the combined weight of the human and the rather bulky undead now snapping at her face.
"ALICE! FUCK!"
Grabbing her gun from it's holster, the redhead ran towards the store, Jill and Chris behind her as K-Mart pushed Becky into the hummer and got in behind her, locking the doors to make sure the girl didn't bolt. Entering with guns drawn, the three of them slowly approached the hole in the floor and aimed down into it, hearing the sounds of fighting. Inside the darkened basement, Alice was trying her best to spot her assailant, but with the T-Virus no longer active in her system, she couldn't see nearly as well in the dark. Feeling the creature slam into her from behind again, she turned and took a swipe at it with her blade that she'd pulled from her waist, smirking as blood splattered against her face. Lurching forward, she moved to jam the blade into the zombie's head, only to feel a sharp pain in her lower leg. Turning and looking down, she moved said leg just in time to keep one of the creatures from fully clamping down on her flesh before spearing it in the forehead. Pulling her pistol from her thigh, Alice turned and shot the other zombie in the head before holstering again and pulling her blade from the head of the creature on the floor.
"Alice! Alice say something! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, but we have a problem!"
Grunting, the brunette allowed her friends to help pull her back up to the main level and assist her back to the hummer as she limped along on her injured leg. Claire shot her a questioning look to which the older woman shook her head, and mouthed 'later'. Letting the silent question drop for the moment, the three of them sat down with Alice, waiting for her to explain the 'problem'.
"These creatures don't have the T-Virus. It's a mutation of some kind, which explains why they weren't killed off when I released the anti-virus."
"Fuck..."
"They're fast and they're strong, but they still go down to a head shot."
"Well at least that hasn't changed."
"Jill, Chris, go make sure everyone is good and settled. We need to try and reinforce the vehicles as much as possible before sundown."
Nodding, the two in question did as asked, and Alice turned to Claire with a slight wince and a sigh.
"What happened Alice."
Letting out a breath, the older woman turned her leg, revealing a large tear in the leather of her tall boot, and blood seeping out from under it. The redhead's eyes widened at seeing the gash when Alice removed the boot to examine the wound, that looked like a jagged tooth mark. Moving to the hummer to grab the first aid kit in the back, she moved back over and gently pulled the injured leg into her lap to get a closer look. Alice let out a hiss as Claire cleaned the gash, the alcohol stinging the open wound.
"Is this…"
"Tooth mark, yeah. He didn't actually /bite/ me though, I yanked my leg away before he could."
"You don't think that…"
"I don't know, Claire. Promise me something, though?"
"What?"
"If I start turning into a flesh craving zombie, shoot me."
Not speaking, the redhead handed the older woman a cloth and some alcohol to clean the blood from her skin as she wrapped the gash with a bandage. Alice pulled her boot back on and the two of them moved to the hummer as the sun started to sink below the horizon. Watching to make sure all of the survivors got into their vehicles safely, Alice and Claire climbed into the large yellow vehicle to try and get some rest. Panic overtook the brunette for a moment before she spied the note Becky had left, saying she was going to stay with K-Mart and the children for the night. Blowing out a breath of relief, she settled in the back seat, relaxing on her side.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all, red. Make yourself comfy."
Climbing into the back as well, Claire wedged herself onto the back seat with the older woman, resting her head on Alice's chest as they tried to get some rest. The last thought on the brunette's mind before she succumbed to sleep, was the fear of not being herself when, and if, she woke up the next morning.