Chapter 5: Graduation Gift

Introduction: Another blast from the past. Claire gets her graduation gift. Sorry for the rather lengthy wait. Thanks for the patience.

Enjoy!

Friday June 13th, 1997

Claire Redfield's Apartment

10:29am

Claire lied in her queen-sized bed and sighed, she felt so happy. High school was over, the ceremony was fun, her dinner with Chris and Jill was delicious and the graduation dance was fantastic. She didn't get home until 3am, but she didn't care, she still managed to get some sleep. The fact that summer was finally here and she'd be starting college in late August was exciting.

But what the red head was most excited about was what Chris got her. She kept poking and prodding him about what it was, but he kept quiet about it. She even asked Jill if she knew, but Jill said she was sworn to secrecy, however she'd absolutely love the gift.

Claire looked over at the alarm clock and noted it was few minutes past eleven. She decided it was time to get up. Throwing the covers off, she sat up and stretched her arms over her head.

Jumping out of bed in her pink tank top and sweat shorts, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that Chris got her. Picking out some fresh clothes for the day, she decided to take a warm shower.

Chris rested on the couch of the living room and was sprawled all over it. He let Jill have his old room and his queen-sized bed, it was a non-issue for him when it came to sleeping arrangements.

The older Redfield was used to falling asleep on a couch. More often than not, he would slink back to his apartment in Raccoon after a long shift and take his gear off and just crash on his comfy couch and fall right to sleep. He admitted to himself that it was probably not good for his body or long-term health, but given his line of work, there wasn't really much he could do to fix that.

Resting an arm over his eyes, he thought about yesterday. After the ceremony, he took Jill and Claire to one of the nicest restaurants in the city. All expense paid. Though when the bill came, Jill insisted on paying her portion, Chris kept declining, but Claire talked him into at least paying for one of them. Chris did agree and watched as Jill paid for his meal and took care of the tip. Afterwards they returned to Claire's apartment and settled in; Claire left for the big graduation dance, while Chris and Jill decided to take-in a movie.

The partners decided to see 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' at the big AMC in town, sharing a large popcorn and a box of M&M's and enjoying each other's company. After watching the movie and leaving the theatre, both agreed it wasn't the as good as the first, but enjoyed it. While Chris wasn't much into reading novels, he figured he'd read the book and do some comparing of the two when he got back to Raccoon.

Jill.

She was the first thing he thought of when he woke up. He thought of the possibility of her being his girlfriend. Could it even happen? Would she even want to have him as her boyfriend? He thought about how much would change between them if they did become a couple.

He also picked up on some of Jill's hints yesterday as well: from her looking forward to being at the grand opening of the new Raccoon Police Department building in August to the policeman's ball in December. To him, it sure sounded like she wanted to be more than friends.

Lost in thought, he started to smell something intoxicating, it smelled like tropical fruit, opening his eyes, he looked up and saw the smiling face of Jill. Resting her arms on the top of the couch and resting her chin on top she watched Chris as he started to get his bearings.

"Morning, sleepy head." Jill said.

"Morning." Chris replied. He noticed that her brown hair was still a little wet. She must have finished her shower a few minutes ago.

"Sleep well?"

Chris sat up and looked at her. She looked amazing without make-up, it's as if she was blessed with genes that could make her perfect no matter what.

He let out a big yawn and stretched his arms above his head and out front. "Yeah, best night on the couch ever." He said jokingly.

Jill chuckled and shook her head. "You could joined me last night." He paused and looked at her, she had an innocent look on her face. At least that's what he thought.

"Really now?" Chris responded with a hint of surprise.

"Uh huh." Jill stood up and he saw what she was wearing a black tank top with a white bra. He tried his best not to stare at her ample cleavage.

He swallowed before continuing, trying to remain calm and not stare. "Well, maybe I'll you up on your offer…"

Jill nodded and smiled again. "I'll hold you to that." She turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen. "I made some coffee and was about to make some waffles."

Chris stood up from the couch. He scratched his backside and lifted the blanket and pillow of the couch to put it away in his room. He couldn't help but notice that Jill was wearing grey cotton shorts that displayed her lovely rear.

"Sounds good. I'm going to shower real quick." He headed towards his room. Chris tried to move quickly to his room and to the bathroom trying not to make it obvious that he was mildly nervous with what Jill was wearing.

"Alright. Breakfast will ready be when you get out." She called out from the kitchen.

As Jill started digging through the freezer for the box of Eggo waffles, she thought about how handsome Chris looked in his grey t-shirt and blue cotton shorts, she noticed when he stood up his green boxers were showing. She immediately thought of how common place that would be if they were married someday. Him looking innocent and cute in his sleepwear and her making them breakfast.

Shaking her head, she focused on warming up the toaster. Placing six slices into the slots, she pressed the button down and began making the waffles. Yet, it felt so right what she was doing. Putting the box back in the freezer, she grabbed the roll of Jimmy Dean sausages and cut up the roll into six slices. Placing them on a plate covered with paper towels she tossed it into the microwave and heated them up.

She smiled when she could hear the shower running. And Jill started to fantasize about all the possibilities with him. What if they lived together? What would they do together? There was so many things that they could do together.

"Jill?"

The brunette opened her eyes and looked at the entryway and saw Claire standing. Wearing a black short sleeve shirt and red shorts, with her red hair tied back into a ponytail, she walked up to the kitchen table in the center and looked at Jill. She was also carrying her pink vest, that had 'Made In Heaven' printed on the back.

"Claire." Jill spoke broken form her thoughts of Chris. "Morning."

"Good morning," Claire said, she gave Jill a look, before looking at what she was doing. "Making breakfast?"

Jill nodded. "Yeah. Waffles and sausages sound good?"

Claire smiled. "Sounds delicious." Claire looked at the table and noticed there wasn't anything placed yet. "Want me to get the plates and silverware ready?"

"Would you please?" Jill asked smiling.

Claire smiled, placing her vest on her chair and started opening the cabinets to grab plates, utensils, and everything else they needed. She saw the coffee maker was done percolating and pulled out three mugs.

After getting everything set, with a carton of orange-pineapple juice, three glasses and the maple syrup, Claire watched as Jill finished up, and finally placed the steaming hot plates of waffles and sausages in the center. The silence between the two was comfortable and not awkward at all, but Claire wanted to ask one thing before Chris came in.

"So, can you tell me what my graduation gift is?" Claire asked innocently.

Jill looked at Claire and smirked for a second. Shaking her head in response, she chuckled for before speaking up. "No, Claire, I can't. I promised your brother."

Claire gave Jill her best fake pout. "Please, Jill?"

Jill smiled at the puppy dog eyes that Claire was giving, but it wasn't working. "Sorry, but Chris told me about all your little tricks." Jill took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "No chance."

Claire slumped her shoulders forward in defeat. Damn, her bother was multiple steps ahead of her. She tried everything to find out what her gift was, but to no avail.

"Okay then." Claire finally spoke up. "Can you tell me about how you feel about my brother?"

Jill's eyes shot up to look at the younger woman. She couldn't help but notice the red head's inquisitive look on her face. For the first in a long while, she hesitated to respond. The last time she did was when Barry Burton asked about her opinion of Chris. And that was months ago when the tow first met.

"Well?" Claire asked innocently. Jill could have sworn that the newly minted high school graduate was smirking at her: almost as if she already knew the answer to her question.

Placing her mug on the counter, Jill scratched her forearm. "Well…"

As if on cue, Chris walked into the kitchen dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt, with his wet hair slicked back and neatly combed. Jill gave a quick exhale, she was able to avoid answering Claire's question.

For now.

"Looks like breakfast is ready." Chris told the two ladies. He sniffed the aroma of waffles and sausages, he moaned in delight. "Smells good too."

"Morning, Chris." Claire said. She smiled at him and cursed the timing of him walking into the kitchen.

"Well, let's eat." Chris said as he walked to take a seat. "Unless, you don't want your gift."

Claire playfully punched her older brother in the arm. "Hey! Don't be like that!"

Jill giggled and pulled up her chair and sat down. She made quick eye contact with Claire as she sat down across from her. She could clearly see the look in her eyes and face and knew this conversation was not over.

The trio enjoyed breakfast and managed small talk. And for Jill it felt right to be in this moment. She only hoped that Chris felt the same way.

Public Storage

12:31PM

Claire tapped her foot impatiently. She had been waiting for her graduation gift for over a month and she could wait no longer. It didn't help that she was blindfolded. All she knew was that they had driven a rather short distance from the apartment. Besides that, she was completely clueless as to where they were going.

"Can I take this off now?" Claire asked irritably. She was wearing her pink vest and brown boots, she didn't feel the least bit hot, if anything she was rather cool and relaxed.

Chris and Jill turned their heads at the blindfolded young woman, Jill was holding her by the wrist and pulling her along gently. The short-haired brunette was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, black shoes and was wearing a pink t-shirt from Victoria's Secret.

"Sorry, Claire," Jill told her. "But we're almost there."

Claire huffed for a second. "Fine."

Chris shook his head and stifled a laugh. He did admit to himself earlier that he was being a bit cruel, but he didn't want her gift to be ruined by her finding out. "Just another few feet Claire."

Sighing Claire followed along. Though deep inside, she was extremely excited and curious as to what it was.

The trio approached a large gate. Chris pulled out the key and bent down to unlock the gate itself. He slowly rolled it up and felt the cold air blow out, he made sure tot take his time so that the inside of the storage room could have some circulation.

Claire was listening closely to what was going on. "Why are you opening a roll-up door?"

Jill rubbed the redhead on her lower back. "You'll see." The brunette couldn't help but smile at what was about to happen. She noticed Chris was wearing his favorite jacket. Much like the pink vest his sister was wearing, stitched on the back were the words 'Made In Heaven'.

Jill watched Chris finishing opening the gate and walked inside, he carefully rolled out Claire's gift. He smiled at Jill and nodded his head that it was okay to remove the blindfold.

"Okay, Claire." Jill announced, as Chris walked up and turned slightly with the front of his body facing his sister's side. "You can open your eyes now."

Claire opened her eyes slowly and got her bearings. She covered her mouth and gasped at the site before her. It was a Honda motorcycle and it looked like a classic model, not only that, but it looked like it was fully restored. On the black leather seat was a grey helmet.

Claire had taken a huge interest in motorcycles over the last few years and always thought of getting one, but could never afford to purchase one. She often told Chris that she hoped she could get one someday either during college or after.

She looked at Jill and then at Chris in disbelief. "Is this…?" She managed to get out during her surprise at the vintage motorcycle in front of them.

Chris nodded and wrapped his arm around his little sister's shoulders. "It is Claire and it's all yours."

Jill smiled sweetly. "Your graduation gift."

Claire blinked a few times. She walked up slowly to the bike and nervously gripped the handle bars. She felt the cool steel against her palm. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths and tried to remain calm.

Opening her eyes again, she had deep smile and started to walk around the bike. Judging from the design, and from her studies of various manufacturers, it was a CB 750A, but she couldn't tell what year it was. She could see her reflection on the reddish plates; she examined everything about the bike and felt a small surge of adrenaline course through her body.

Turning to look at Chris and Jill she watched as the pair smiled at her and watched with wonder at her excitement at her gift.

"I can't believe you got this…" Claire spoke up finally.

"Believe it." Chris said smiling as he walked up to her. "I wanted to get you something special." He placed a gentle hand on her right shoulder and gave her an affectionate squeeze. "And I knew a bike would be the perfect gift."

Claire looked up to her brother, she eyes were watering and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you…" Claire said while she cried. She felt Chris' arms wrap around her and held her close.

"Your welcome." Chris said into her ear softly. He looked up and saw Jill's soft expression. He smiled at her and motioned for her to come over.

Jill walked over as Chris pulled away. The redhead turned and looked at Jill, Claire then wrapped her arms around the older woman and held her close. Chris smiled at the scene before him and was reminded again of the family he had. Everyday he began to feel more and more as if Jill was part of his family. Not in a sisterly way, but as something more.

The two women separated and Claire wiped the remaining tears away. She exhaled loudly and fanned herself with her hands.

"Wow." Claire said finally. She looked at her brother and Jill and then back to the bike. She looked at it closely. "What year is it?"

"1977." Jill told her. "We tried finding one that was from '79, but no luck."

Claire nodded and walked around to the seat. She picked up the helmet and turned it over a little. "Who got the helmet?"

"Jill." Chris said proudly, looking at his partner who was standing to his right.

Claire nodded continued to examine the bike. She wondered how long it took to restore it. "How long ago did you buy this?"

"Three months ago." Chris stated. "Bought it down in Phoenix. Good a good deal on it too."

"Did you restore it yourself?" Claire asked quirking an eyebrow.

Chris shook his head. "No, Barry helped and so did Jill." He reached out for Claire's helmet and held it for her in his hand. "Sit."

Claire gave a sly smile and sat on the bike. She smiled broadly at the feel of the bike underneath her. She reached out and gripped the handle bars and felt the coolness of the rubber portions.

"Can I ride it?" Claire asked innocently, acting as if she was a small child doing something for the first time. Then again, in these last few moments, she felt like she was five again.

"Of course." Chris said, he watched as Jill pulled the keys from her pocket and handed them to Claire.

Taking the keys from Jill, Claire slowly and carefully inserted the keys into the ignition. She took a deep breath, this was going to be her first time starting a motorcycle and her first time riding one.

She put her fears to rest and turned the key and started the engine. The bike roared to life and it vibrated as Claire sat on the seat. The power of the small vintage motorcycle was not only impressive but extremely intoxicating.

"Like it?" Jill asked over the running engine.

Claire nodded her head enthusiastically. "Hell yeah!"

Chris laughed and placed the helmet on her head and gave it a playful smack.

"Hey!" Claire cried out, slightly annoyed at her brother's behavior.

"Go on." Chris said as she strapped the helmet on her head. "We'll meet you back at the house."

Claire nodded. "Got it." She revved the bike up a little more and kicked the stand up. Chris and Jill took a few steps back.

"I'll see you in a little bit." Claire said as she slowly rolled away.

"Great." Chris replied, but because he was her brother, he had to let her know one more thing. "Just be careful. Okay?"

Claire nodded her head. "I will. And I'll obey the traffic laws while I'm at it."

Chris and Jill smiled and waved as Claire rode away. They watched her turned and head for the exit and out onto the streets.

After watching her leave, Chris pulled the garage door down and locked it up. He pocketed the key and started to head back to the front to turn it back in.

He felt Jill wrapped her left arm around his right as they slowly walked back to the front of the storage area. "She's so happy."

Chris nodded casually. "Yeah, she'd been looking into motorcycles for awhile now."

"Well," Jill frowned. "I'm sure she's lucky to have an older brother like you." She leaned into him a little more.

"Yeah, I guess your right." He replied in a thoughtful manner. "And I'm lucky to have you around to remind me of my good traits."

Jill smiled warmly at him. "And I'm happy that you make me feel like a woman."

They both smiled at each other and continued walking. The last two days were perfect. It's as if fate or destiny was making it so. The fact that it felt so right, so natural for the both of them to be together like this made it better.

They continued on their way with the sun shining upon them and opening them up to a future filled with unknowns. But they would face those unknowns together.

Next: So I'm always with you…