N/A 1: Soooo… The cause of all this - for posting the awesome picture of Milla dressed as a cowboy for a jeans advertise and having the Brokeback Mountain idea in the first place – Elisa, this one's for you ;)

N/A 2: Thanks everyone who took their time to write reviews and follow the story, I do hope you keep enjoying it!

Disclaimer:I don't own Resident Evil, Claire, Alice, Jill or neither of those amazing people from the movies. If I did, I'd be with them instead of writing about their awesomeness…

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2. Turn the lights off

She woke up in pain, and the moment she opened her eyes, Alice immediately closed them again. The brightness made her eyes burn and a major, excruciating headache started to spread inside her skull, pressing her temples mercilessly.

Turning on her side, Alice spotted the bottle of whiskey she had almost emptied last night. It probably rolled over from her grip and now stood there, forgotten, the sight of the amber liquid giving her nausea.

"I'm probably getting old," she grunted to herself, trying to stand up but failing miserably. Her head spun and her knees faltered once or twice, until she could finally stand on her full height.

Alice felt dizzy as her head throbbed and her stomach squirmed and complained about the lack of food. Three days without any meal and she had expected to wake up in better mood… As she collected her shameful amount of belongings, another train hit Alice's head. Umbrella.

"Shit!" she growled, getting another pang on her temples as she moved frantically over the straw covered barn. "Shit shit SHIT!"

Considering the sun high up in the sky, she knew it was over for her. Alice collected the bottle from the floor, deciding to take it with her. She would probably need it. The blonde placed her hat back on her head, not even bothering to untie the knots on her disheveled hair.

To say it was alarmingly hotter than the day before was an understatement. It was like the Earth suddenly became Hell, and she was just another condemned soul walking and stomping, hoping she would find the end of that road.

The barn she had spent the night in wasn't that far from the Umbrella office, but the walk seemed like eternity. Alice rubbed her eyes when she saw the yellow Hummer parked in front of the small building.

"What the fuck-?"

As she slowly approached it, there was a flash of red and Claire Redfield jumped off the car. The younger woman leaned her hip against the vehicle with her arms folded, a look of satisfaction plastered on her face.

"Morning, Major," she said. "Sleep well?"

"What the hell are you doing here again?" Alice hissed. At first it had been kind of fun, but now she was absolutely pissed and had had enough of that girl. "Why aren't you out there, fixing… whatever exists?" Alice cringed, rubbing her eyes as the pain seemed to change locations inside her head.

Hands were on her face before she knew it. Claire removed her hat and placed a hand on her sweaty forehead. More out of reflex than anything, Alice quickly disentangled herself from Claire and took a safe distance.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked exasperated, almost tripping over her feet.

"I was just trying to help!" Claire stepped away, looking offended. "Let me guess… Underfed, dehydrated, suffers from insomnia and drinks your ass off."

"You don't know me," Alice snapped.

"Your breath smells like a gas station."

Alice scoffed at her smartass attitude, but deep down she was a little ashamed. She was not used to people figuring out the worst of her so quickly. "Well done, Sherlock," she muttered under her breath, noticing how bad it really was.

Claire shook her head and turned away. She entered the vehicle and was back a few seconds later. She had a bottle of water in her hand, which she offered to Alice.

"No, thank you," the blonde murmured. Water was more valuable than anything, maybe even more than petroleum had been when the world was still world, and she could not accept that from the person she'd been treating so rudely.

"Stop trying to be so noble," Claire shoved it into her hand. "You're a totally suck at it."

Alice felt her lips twitching, and an involuntary smirk crisped them upwards. She thought the redhead saw it, because Alice heard her chuckle as she re-entered the car.

"Maybe you wanna stay inside to wait for Chairman, too. It's fucking hot out there."

This time Alice simply complied and climbed onto the Hummer, taking the passenger seat and appreciating the simple comfort of it. She rested her tired head against the leather and closed her eyes as she rummaged her pockets.

When she opened them and turned to Claire, she noticed the redhead had been looking at her intently. Alice ignored it and threw the pack of cigarettes at Claire's lap.

Claire smiled. "We can share it."

"Who's trying to be noble now?" Alice said with a smug grin. It was the first time that she saw Claire actually laugh, and the sight soothed her tightened chest for a minute. "So… What are you doing here?"

"Chairman hired us both," Claire answered. "He told me to get here by seven, but he's late again."

"Asshole," Alice hissed. "He told me to be here at five."

"Look, there he is," the redhead pointed out, checking the BMW ride through the rearview mirror. "Sucker."

Alice smirked; she adjusted her hat and got out of the car with Claire, pleased to see the look of surprise on Wesker's face. He probably had expected her to bail the offer, and she wondered whether he considered her a threat or not.

"You're relocating to Nevada," he said glancing at the pair with contempt. "We have a facility there that has to be watched – we need maintenance of equipments such as cars and electronic devices, and we need security. This means you fix and you shoot," he said respectively to Claire and to Alice. "Supplies and clothing items are inside the office. You'll find two gallons of gas for the car, it must be enough to go and come back. And girls," he finally removed his sunglasses, revealing dark, cold eyes as he worked on the padlock. "There's just one rule. Nothing goes in, nothing comes out. Don't try anything, because I'll know, and this isn't good. Is that clear?"

Claire frowned at his smile; it didn't match all the abuse and the harshness of the threats he was making. It was Alice who brought her back to reality, carrying two large duffel bags she had picked from the office's small deposit. She didn't look shaken by Chairman's words, but they still rang darkly in Claire's ears. The redhead quickly opened the door for her, and Alice threw their baggage unceremoniously at the back seat of the Hummer.

"This is great," the blonde grunted, realizing that Umbrella had provided only a dog-eared map to help them as she slumped down the passenger seat again.

"Never mind this shit, I can get us there," Claire said confidently, casting the folded paper away. She stared at Alice for a moment and silently reached out for her face. The blonde just waited this time instead of reacting like an animal. Claire picked and removed a considerable amount of straw from her hair, and brushed some from her shoulders.

Alice offered her a timid smile and kept her hat on her lap, trying to comb her hair with her fingers using the wing mirror. Claire had a small grin tugging at her lips when she started the ignition.

"There's a hat in here," Claire's muffled voice came from inside one duffel bag as she scavenged it. She was on the passenger seat, now, while Alice assumed the driving so that the redhead could rest a bit. "And I think… camp supplies. Oh, canned food! God only knows how I just can't stand pork and beans anymore… Hey, Alice, did you see – What?"

Alice had a bored frown as she interrupted Claire with a glare. "That's your idea of refreshment? Talking and fussing non-stop?"

Claire sighed. She was only trying to keep Alice distracted from the many miles they still had to go, and she thought it would actually please the blonde instead of annoying her.

"I was keeping you company," she grunted, a little hurt by Alice's crispy tone. She threw the bag at the back of the car again, making the cans and other metallic objects rattle and clatter. "I almost fell asleep with all your brooding and silence."

Alice decided to ignore her. The more she argued, the more Claire would try to make a point, and she really wasn't in the mood. A few minutes later, Alice noted her plan had worked as Claire seemed to defer to her and lit a cigarette instead of starting conversation again. She would eventually indicate shortcuts on the main road and then fall back into silence, hugging her knees with both arms.

It was getting dark when they pulled over to fuel the Hummer. Claire had assumed the wheels again as Alice worked the makeshift pump. The blonde hopped back in the car and they moved ahead through the final miles of their trip. As it got darker, it also got slightly colder, and both women welcomed the chilly wind coming from the desert.

The facility was literally in the middle of nowhere. The Hummer's headlights fell over a rusty, tall fence with the undeniable logo attached to it. To their surprise, sentinels appeared from both sides, wearing black from head to toe and armed with machine guns. They opened the gates and allowed them in with a short salute.

Alice watched Claire's uneasy profile as she drove further into the obscure plant. Darker shades outlined tall hangars on both sides of the car, like a corridor, and there was not much illumination other than a few light posts that barely did their job.

Flashlights signaled for them to stop and other soldiers waved at them.

"Step out of the vehicle," one of them commanded, not entirely harsh but not so nicely either.

As Alice collected the duffel bags, Claire froze behind the steering wheel. The blonde was about to ask what was the problem, but the fear in Claire's face told her that the redhead probably knew something about Umbrella that she didn't. Alice threw the bags over her shoulder and jumped off the Hummer, but instead of heading to the men – which seemed a lot more prudent at this point – she walked around the front of the car and stopped next to Claire's rolled down window.

She received an alarming glare from the redhead, and saw the pressure she was using to hold the wheel. Her knuckles were white and Alice caught herself doing something that wasn't her type of move. She stretched one arm and gently squeezed the redhead's hand on the wheel, resting there until Claire's breathing went back to normal pace.

"Stay in the car," Alice whispered, the husky tone getting the younger woman's attention. Blue eyes met green, and a silent exchange took place between them. Claire nodded, and Alice took it as permission to release her hand. She then marched towards the waiting soldiers, touching the gun tuck inside her jeans.

"State business," the man ordered, directing the light beam straight into her eyes.

"Wesker hired us. For maintenance and security," she added, squinting at the clarity.

The soldier lowered the flashlight and Alice figured a very tall, dark man that stared down at her. "The car stays here. You're located at wing seven. Second block to the right." He pointed the corridor. "Set camp and avoid walking the perimeter without flashlights. You can send a flare if you get in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" she asked with a frown.

"You don't wanna find out about that at night. Move, now."

Alice turned on her heels and went back to the Hummer. The redhead looked anxious at her. "C'mon, Claire," she tilted her head as an encouraging gesture. "We only need to walk a few blocks."

"What about my car?" she hissed.

"They'll keep it for now."

Alice thought it would take longer, but Claire nodded and got out after a moment's hesitation, taking her cap and aviators. They walked past the soldiers, and Alice noticed the way they could stand unnervingly still, like machines. They walked in silence, and this time it wasn't because Alice had said so. Claire didn't seem to be in the mood to talk while those weird people watched them.

Six hangars later and a right turn, they found a vast area covered in sand, a few contorted cacti and fence. The desert breeze was erupting goosebumps in Claire's arms, as well as that place was. Alice quietly dug their packs and started to set up a lonely and battered tent. The fabric was thick, military green, but it was inappropriate for storms – that was when she realized they would stay under a fustigating sun for a whole month.

"Can you set a fire?" Alice asked, whipping the sweat from her forehead as she buried the poles deeper where the earth was harder.

Claire said nothing and began collecting dry branches she found on the ground. When she thought she had enough, Claire sat on her knees and started to work the flintstones. Alice only watched in silence, but then she shook her head and went back to work.

Almost two hours later, both women sat in front of each other, the fire gently crepitating between them. Claire wore a blanket around her shoulders, wondering if it was indeed that cold. She looked up a few times, watching Alice slowly chew her pork and beans, and then returned her glare to her own canned meal. It tasted like crap at first, but so many years had passed and she had fragile memories of real food's taste to compare.

Eventually she'd get Alice's eyes on her, almost timid. Those damn green eyes… A snap behind her back drew her attention to her miserable position, and she looked around for the source of the noise.

"What was that?" she whispered, watching the fence with her eyes narrowed, pointing her flashlight at some of its length. Alice stayed on her sitting position, scuffing the bottom of the can with her spoon.

"Probably something we don't wanna know," she commented, watching Claire's back as the redhead quickly stood up and walked to the fence.

"It doesn't smell good," Claire shook her head, approaching the rusty grates carefully. The beam only revealed dead grass on the other side of the fence. She lowered the light and took one step to go back, when a raspy grunt made her stop dead on her tracks, a breath hitching on her throat.

"Don't move!" Alice jumped up. The look on her face did not sooth Claire; it was the first time the blonde actually seemed worried about something, and Claire needed to know what it was. She turned around slowly, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as the disgusting sucking noise continued. Milky eyes and bloody raw skin met the round flashlight's beam by the fence, inches away from grabbing her with its putrid hand.

Claire screamed at the same time that arms enclosed around her and a gun's fire echoed in the air. The gnarling was over and so was the undead, it seemed. Claire was completely coiled against Alice, face buried on her chest as angry tears rolled down her dusty cheeks. She was grabbing two handfuls of Alice's shirt as the blonde guided her back to the fire.

"I'm here," Alice whispered, for the first time allowing the redhead to be that close. She knew there was no turning back now. That always happened when she saved other people's lives. "I'm here, Claire."

Claire silently relaxed against her warm skin, taking in her woody scent and then realizing what she was doing. She took a step back, trying not to look rude or anything.

If that had bothered Alice, she did not let it show. She eyed Claire carefully, because she needed to be sure she was okay. "Try to get some sleep," she said. "I'll take watch tonight."

Claire didn't want to leave her out there alone, but she knew Alice could do more for herself than Claire could. But still… the scent still lingered, and she had liked it. A little too much, perhaps, because she didn't want to stay away from it anymore. It had been a long time since she had had contact with someone, and it had not been as tense or fierce as it had been with Alice. Alice and her damn anatomy.

"I won't be able to sleep," Claire argued.

"I'll be here if you need me. Now go," Alice shooed her with a lazy gesture, giving her back to the tent opening as she sat down by the fire again.

Claire sighed and decided to comply. At least she knew Alice would not hesitate to use her gun if she needed again. Sore from the trip and emotionally tired, Claire fell asleep almost instantly, wondering how the people she left behind were doing without her.

Alice could not stop thinking about how frail and small Claire felt against her. The redhead seemed so full of energy and attitude that it was hard to believe she could be so vulnerable.

The blonde knew it had been a lapse – she had long ago learned to handle herself and remain cold – and she noticed how embarrassed Claire had felt after they let go. The outbreak and all the Hell they went through had taught people to keep their emotions at bay, and Alice almost felt sorry that she might find a brooding and evasive Claire the next morning.

"The hell with that," she growled, rubbing her eyes and deciding she could do with a cigarette. She walked quietly towards the tent and entered it as soundlessly as she could. Claire was fast asleep on her blanket, her red hair looking darker as it spread on the tent's uncomfortable floor.

Alice almost cursed when she spotted the pack of Marlboros by Claire's head. She went down on her knees and crawled her way above the woman, hoping she wouldn't touch her. When her dirty fingers finally clasped around the pack, Alice let out a loud sigh of relieve. She immediately held her breath when Claire stirred underneath her.

She whimpered in a barely audible whisper and acquiesced again. Alice kicked herself on the inside for staying there, watching the redhead sleep. She slowly withdrew her lanky form, when Claire reached out and touched her cheek.

Alice frowned, but she didn't move.

"Turn the lights off and come back to bed," Claire whispered, turning on her side and leaving Alice's mind spinning faster than whiskey could ever manage.

The blonde left the tent, resolved that she could not sleep in there. Ever. She sat down on the redhead's previous spot, lit her cigarette with a match and envied the person that most likely heard that from Claire every night in another life.