Hopefully this chapter is void of any spelling errors, critique is welcome! Please enjoy!


Claire snapped out of her thoughts of Wesker when Chris called the waiter over to order another beer. She wondered how long she had dazed off.

"Want one?" He asked his sister, who was still only half listening, the waiter stared at her impatiently.

"Oh. No, no, just some more iced tea." Claire requested. Chris looked down at her plate and noticed that she had barely eaten.

"Something wrong sis? Food not good?" Chris asked. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"No, its fine, I'm not as hungry as I thought I was." She wrote her brother off who was now giving her a look.

"You need to eat Claire." Chris said stubbornly, regaining some of the protective nature Claire always dealt with from her brother. She shook her head and twirled a portion of the cooling pasta on her fork and brought it to her mouth. Chris looked satisfied with that and focused on his own meal. Forty minutes and a few more drinks on Chris' part the siblings paid the bill, tipped the waiter and left the establishment with linked arms. They walked towards Chris' new apartment which was where Claire was staying for the moment. Chris was trying to convince his sister to move to Boston with him, but she was reluctant. Not for lack of wanting to live in the same city as her brother, but she was determined to finish her work with TerraSave, which required her to travel.

"I know you would love it here." Chris said offhandedly as they passed a park, "It's safe."

"Jill said she was thinking about Boston," Claire replied, changing the focus of the conversation.

"Yeah, she did tell me that," Chris said, "she said she wants to finish her lease first though. It would be nice to have both of you here."

Claire stopped and looked at her brother, who turned to and looked right back at her.

"TerraSave will survive without you." Chris said, almost weakly, as if he knew that it was futile. "Do you know how hard it is to stay home and do nothing while my baby sister goes off every week and fights crime? Doing what I'm supposed to be doing?"

"Chris, is this about me working for TerraSave, or you NOT working for the BSAA?" Claire asked and got no reply from the older Redfield. "Chris I know being on leave is hard-"

"Its more than hard Claire, it's driving me insane!" he interrupted.

"I'm sorry Chris. But you've done your part, you've done MORE than your part... you need to rest, get well, then you'll be able to go back to work. For the mean time you need let me do my job." Claire said gently, not wanting to fight with her brother. He said nothing but gave her a half smile, "You're not a kid anymore," he said, more to himself than her, "I still see you as a kid, I know you're not. You're far from being a child, but I can't help it. I still remember the first time you got your period-"

"Oh god Chris!" She cut him off, turning red. Chris laughed.

"You were eleven, I was 17 and completely grossed out. Mom was so sick she couldn't take you to the store."

"So you left me in the bathroom and came home with adult diapers!" Claire exclaimed, still red.

"The woman at the store said they were pads!" Chris defended himself, "I guess they were pretty big though..."

Claire laughed, she had almost forgotten about that, "You were a great big brother." She said while looking up at him. His smile disappeared.

"I left you with Mom the first chance I got, I wasn't that great." Chris said quietly, as if he didn't want the few other people on the sidewalk to know what they were talking about. Claire searched his eyes, she wished she could make all of his pain go away. Chris had always bottled things up inside of himself, and Kijuju just pushed him over the edge. It seemed everything he had suppressed was now weighing down and him and she had no idea how to help.

"You were forced to take dads place in our family when he died Chris, you dropped out of school, worked two jobs and still took care of me. I-" Claire swallowed, "I don't blame you for leaving Chris." She finished.

"Mom died when you were twelve Claire, you were all alone... I should have been there, and I know that, you don't need to sugar coat it."

"You came back though. You joined the Air Force so I didn't have to continue to live in foster care." Claire defended.

"And they took you away when I got kicked out, remember? I don't know why you're defending me. I got kicked out the Air Force and hitched a few cities past Stonewall and did my best to forget about my sister living with some random foster family." He said, venom in his voice and tears in his eyes.

"You came back Chris-"

"Because of Barry!" he said cutting her off, "If I hadn't have met him I wouldn't have come back!" He raised her voice catching the attention of passerby's. Claire watched at a tear rolled down his cheek.

"I don't believe that Chris." She said softly, "and I don't think you do either. We both made mistakes Chris. We didn't have it easy, and you stood up and took care of me. You came back, you got a job with S.T.A.R.S and you took me in. If it weren't for you Chris I don't know what would have happened to me." Claire said, forcing her brother to look into her eyes, "You're my hero." she hugged the older man who hugged her tightly, taking some of her breath away.

"Thank you." he choked softly.

The two stood there, hugging for a while before continuing back to Chris' place.

They finally made it to Chris' apartment. The older of the two took his shirt off. "I'm going to shower." He informed his sister. He headed into the bathroom and turned on the water. Claire set her bag down near her suitcase by the couch. She noticed a piece of paper on the coffee table that she hadn't earlier that day. She picked it up and examined it.

"You got a speeding ticket?" she asked with a smirk, "and you say that I cant drive." Claire laughed. Chris came out of the bathroom and looked at his sister.

"You can't drive!" He joked, "You're a pro on a motorcycle Claire, but if you get behind a wheel of a car the emergency broadcast system starts."

Claire make a hmph sound. "I'm not that bad!"

"How many tickets?" Chris asked, "How many tickets have you gotten since you started driving? Wait, no! How many times have you been pulled over before the cop saw you were a pretty girl and gave you a verbal warning?" Chris looked at his sister triumphantly.

Claire looked a little embarrassed, "A few."

"Uh huh!" Chris laughed and turned back to the bathroom. Claire shook her head and sat on the couch.

"I haven't been pulled over THAT much." Claire mused to herself, and once again her mind wondered back to the blonde haired tyrant named Albert Wesker. She wondered if Chris remembered the first time she got a ticket, January of 1997.


Claire Redfield was driving her brother's Jeep on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Chris left her the vehicle and got a ride from his fellow S.T.A.R.S member Barry Burton to the bar they were going to that night. Claire promised that she would change the oil on the Jeep in exchange for taking it to a friends house for the night, which is where she was going.

She was currently going between watching the road, and looking on the floor below her for the pager Chris had given her. Her fingers felt the small box between her fingers and she reached for it. She smiled as she sat back up and looked at the road, noticing that she have swerved into the oncoming lane.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed and swerved back into the right lane. She sighed, "I'm glad no one else is one the road." She laughed at herself. She checked her pager and threw it on the passenger seat and looking the rear view mirror just in time to see the blue lights on a cop car behind her.

"Noooooo." Claire moaned sadly, she slowed down and parked on the side one the road. She pouted as she waited for the officer to step out of the car. She stared in disbelief as Chris' captain stepped out the car. He wasn't wearing his stars uniform, but rather the regular blue and white the other cops in the city wore. Claire pouted to no one and waited for the inevitable.

Claire watched as the blonde got closer and hoped that he had forgotten about their embarrassing first meeting, but knew that was probably not a possibility.

She rolled down the window and turned off the stereo before putting her hands on the wheel.

'Maybe he wont recognize me.' she thought as he walked up to the window.

"Well hello Miss Redfield." Wesker greeted with a smirk.

'No such luck.' She thought before smiling at him, "Hello Mr. Wesker." She replied, promising herself that he would not get to her so easily this time. She wasn't sure why he was able to get under her skin so quickly, it annoyed her to no end.

"License, registration, proof of insurance." He stated and watched as she gather what he had asked for.

"I didn't know you could pull people over, I thought you were just S.T.A.R.S." She said as she handed him the papers.

"I went to the police academy Redfield, I am a cop." he said in a monotone voice, "This is your brother's Jeep." He continued, she wasn't sure if it was a question.

"Yes, he let me borrow it to go to a friends." She replied calmly.

"You're not on the insurance." he stated again, and once again she didn't understand whether that was a question or not.

"No, but he's going to-"

"But you're not currently on the insurance policy Miss Redfield, that's a problem." he said, and she frowned.

"How much of a problem?" She asked worriedly.

"I wouldn't be so worried about that if you weren't serving all over the road, Claire." He said and she rolled her lips into her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Sir." She said, trying not to bring up the fact that there was no one else on the road, except for him apparently.

"Have you been drinking, Miss Redfield?" He asked.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Have. You. Been. Drinking?" he asked slower and she shook her head a few times.

"No, no no, of course not. I dropped my pager and-"

"and you thought that was more important than keeping your eyes on the road." he cut her off.

She stayed silent. She knew that she didn't have an excuse.

"Get out of the car." He said. She looked at him, shocked.

"What? Why?" She was worried now.

"Because I told you to." he said simply. She pouted, a little put off she unbuckled her seatbelt before she pulled the handle, stepped out the car and closed the door. She looked up at him, he didn't seem bothered by the fact that they were a foot from each other. Claire felt very small standing in front of the older man who towered over her.

"Touch your nose." Wesker told her.

"Really?" Claire asked, embarrassed.

"I'm not in the mood to argue Claire. Touch your nose."

She sighed and put her right index finger right on top of her nose.

"Good, can you recite the alphabet?" he asked,

"Can you?" she mumbled, he took off his sunglasses and gave her a look.

"A b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z." she said quickly, turning red as she saw another car pass them on the road, watching her recite the alphabet with her finger on her nose.

"Backwards." He said simply, she started to wonder if he wanted her to fail, just so he could arrest her.

"Z y x w v u t s r p q o n m," she paused and closed her eyes, thinking of the next letter, "l k j... i h g f e d c b a!"

"You got p and q mixed up." he criticized with a smirk. She sighed.

"Z y x w v u t-" She started again before he cut her off.

"You've convinced me." He said dryly, "Where are you headed Miss Redfield?" he asked.

"To a friends house, like I told you." she said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

Wesker gave her a smile and sent chills down her spine. He stepped closer which until then, Claire didn't think that was possible. She could feel the heat from his chest against the cold weather. She swallowed and looked up at him, hoping she didn't seem too nervous.

"And who is this friend, dear heart? Not anyone you shouldn't be socializing with, now Claire?" he asked smoothly, the same taunting nature that she remembered creeping back into his voice.

"And what would make you think that?" She asked, "Chris wont even let me associate with anyone of the opposite sex." Claire said.

"I don't blame him, I don't think I would let you leave the house if you were my sister. I'm sure your brother is far too tempted to cause bodily harm to anyone who even looks at you." He stepped even closer, forcing Claire to press her back against the Jeep. "You're a very, unconventional looking girl, Claire." Claire's heart sped up. She swallowed even harder and tried to find her voice.

"Should I be offended?" she asked meekly, not entirely sure what was happening.

Wesker laughed.

"You have the body of an athlete, yet you dress horrendously. You're hair is long and smooth but you insist on wearing it tied up. You're skin is smooth, you don't seem to wear a drop of makeup, and yet you have motor oil right behind your ear," he lifted a hand and touched her neck right below her left earlobe, "and under your fingernails." she blushed. She felt so hot, and she was pretty sure she couldn't breath. "You're lips," he continued, leaning closer to the redhead, "pouty and unsuspecting."

Stopping a couple inches from her face, Claire let out a small whimper. He smirked. "Chris should glad his sister is no more feminine than him, or he could never let you leave the house."

Claire stood frozen, back still pressed up against the Jeep. Wesker had moved away from her, "Get me back in your car and I'll be back with your ticket." he said as we walked back to his car.

Claire didn't know what to think. She stood against the Jeep, mouth slightly agape. Claire's cheeks felt hot and she was sure she was as red as a beet. She couldn't believe he had done it again, somehow found a way to completely insult her AND compliment her at the same time. The same anger she had felt the first time she met the infuriating man had started to bubble up inside of her. She stuck her tongue in her cheek and looked Wesker, who was writing something while sitting in the front seat of his car.

'He's really writing me a ticket? What is his problem? Why is he messing with me?' she thought. Claire tried her hardest to relax, she didn't want to make a fool out of herself like last time, 'I wont give him the satisfaction. I'll just take the ticket and tell Chris that his boss is a total psycho!'

With her mind made up Claire decided that she would stay calm. She slid back into the Jeep and waited for Wesker to come back with her ticket. After a few (long) minutes the blonde had made his way back to the Jeep, ticket in hand.

"Miss Redfield."

She tried to smile at him, "Yes?" she asked.

He handed her the paperwork and her license back, including a ticket for reckless driving. She closed her eyes tight and sighed. She could almost feel his stupid smirk on his face, but she said nothing.

"Be safe, dear heart, keep your eyes on the road." He said smugly, she licked her lips.

"Yes, sir." she chocked out with a painful smile. He started to walk away.

"Oh, Miss Redfield," He stopped her as she started the Jeep again. She groaned.

"Yes?" She asked again, annoyance once again creeping into her voice. He took off his glasses.

"Are you attending the Policeman's Ball?" He asked, which threw her off guard.

"Yeeees." She said slowly, remembering Chris had mentioned that he got her a ticket.

"Good, I'll see you there." Wesker smirked, "Wear something... nice, will you?"

And with that he was gone before Claire could reply. His words sunk in.

"Wh..." She was at a loss for words, "Why does he do THAT?" she exclaimed as she watched him pull away. "Ugh!" Claire rested her head on the back of the seat and exhaled, trying hard to forget how mad he made her.

After a few minutes Claire had calmed down, she pulled her hair out of its pony tail and tied it back up again before putting the jeep in drive and continuing down the road to her friends house. She glanced down at her ripped jeans that had a few oil stains and pen marks on them which were pulled over red leather boots, then examined her thin brown t-shirt that said "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute" with a small owl on it. It had a few small holes in it and was pretty badly faded. He leather jacket had seen better days as well.

She rolled her eyes to herself,

"I don't dress badly."