Chapter 9
I awoke to Wesker's soft caresses; the faint pinks of the coming day seeping into the room from behind the thick green curtains of the hotel room. He pleasured me sweetly, slowly; his eyes staring into mine; making me feel as if he were trying to look into my very thoughts. We came together, and he pulled me to his chest in a tight embrace, kissing my mouth as if he needed me like he needed air.
We lay there, our bodies still tangled, just clinging to each other; and I wished with all of my heart that things had been different; that Umbrella had never dabbled in viral weaponry; or that Wesker had ever been a part of it. I wished that I could have known him before the tragedy in Raccoon City.
After a long time, he pulled himself out and away from me. The desert air was already pressing in on us, making the air thick and dry. I stretched languidly, the sheets twisting underneath my back. He dressed, and putting his sunglasses across the bridge of his nose, Wesker turned to me.
"I'm only going to the car to get some food for you. Don't get too far, dear heart; I'd hate to have to come and find you. I suspect it would only make me angry." his voice was cold as a glacier. His posture spoke of anger; spine pencil straight, shoulders squared, jaw clenched, brow furrowed above his shades. A totally different persona than the one that had awoken me.
My temper flared, and I snorted impatiently. Sitting up, I dressed moodily. I wasn't aware that he had left the room until I turned around, finding no one.
I cried then. I wished my brother was here. Or Leon. It was then that I found myself wrapped up in Wesker's arms, his breath hot against my ear as he whispered reassuringly to me. I was so mad at him; and more angry with myself. I could have been cold towards him; resisted till he killed me. It's what I should have done; being a strong Redfield.
"Let me go." I begged. He just held me, kissing me gently. I felt as if I were breaking inside. My heart was breaking. I didn't want to be here, and yet, the thought of leaving him was tearing me apart. I was falling in love with him; the situation totally hopeless. So what if we loved each other? It would never be enough. Wesker and I were just far too different; we were sworn enemies.
"I love you, Claire." Wesker's lips found my own, and I felt myself give in to his advances; moaning into his mouth as I deepened the kiss. I couldn't voice my feelings aloud, my pride wouldn't let me. All of the hurt, all of the pain and all of the tender feelings that I had bubbling inside of me came crashing out into my kiss; I would love him silently.
"Make me love you." I challenged. He growled low in his throat as he flipped me onto my stomach. I found my pants being yanked roughly down around my ankles, felt his hands skimming over my flesh. He bit my earlobe cruelly; I cried out as he entered me from behind. Tears stung in my vision as he rutted with me, his hand on the back of my shoulder, holding me down as he slammed his hips forcefully into mine. I screamed his name out, my climax surprising me, and I felt him tense, heard the groan that rushed out of his lips with my name; felt as his hot juices rushed into my waiting womb.
Although my lids drooped down low from exhaustion, Wesker didn't stop; instead, he kept moving inside of me, bringing me up to a kneeling position against his rock hard chest. His hands held me upright, fingers kneading my breasts gently, making me moan and bring up my hand to cup his neck. His lips were hot against my skin, burning a trail down my neck, over my shoulder, where his teeth sunk in teasingly, his nails playing over my ribcage.
Wesker made love to me until the middle of the day, taking only a few short breaks, before I couldn't keep my eyes open, slipping into a sex-coma.
Wesker sat on a chair in the corner of the room, typing rapidly on his laptop. Uroboros was entering it's final test stages; and looking very promising indeed.
A cage clanging in the corner of the room drew his attention; he'd been out to the pet store earlier. Two rabbits, snow white and pink eyed, sat in the cage he had purchased at the same store. One kept thumping it's leg on the wire, becoming a nuisance. That one would be the first up to his little experiment.
"Claire." He gently nudged her, smiling as she mumbled something that sounded like, "Fife mo minutes."
Shaking her shoulders, she finally stirred.
"What?" Her hair was wild, curling at the edges slightly, and tangled beyond what he would have thought possible.
"Extend your arm, I require a blood sample." She looked at him quizzically, but gave him her arm willingly. He watched her wince as he slowly drew a sample from her vein.
"Why do you need that?" Claire asked, curiosity getting the better of her. He smiled slightly, and nodded his head in the direction of the rabbits.
"We're going to see if you are pregnant yet or not. The more conventional methods are too slow to find out, and with the virus in my system, it very may well destroy the fetus without proper precautions. The rabbit trick has been around for centuries; and it's accurate. So I'll administer your blood into it's system; and wait a few hours. If the rabbit lives, then we have much more work to do. If not, then we have been successful." Wesker explained, rising from the bed to open the cage. He pulled out the thumper, and tented the skin at the nape of it's chubby neck, pushing the needle into it and pressing the plunger down with a smirk.
Claire held out her hands, looking at Wesker as he held the poor rabbit up by it's nape, it's legs pinwheeling to the side as it tried desperately to get away. He deposited the pathetic creature into her arms, ignoring her glare.
"Couldn't you have waited until we got to where we were going? I'd hate to think that this cute little bunny died because of me." Claire said, petting the rabbit gently.
"Dear heart, I apologize if my methods shock you, but this has been the most accurate and quickest way to test for a pregnancy, and it is the same way I would check it at the lab where we're going." He paused, sitting on the edge of the bed lightly. "Rabbits breed so rapidly, that it's hardly felt by the population, I assure you."
"But doesn't the rabbit know? Can't they feel it?" Somehow he sensed they weren't talking about rabbits anymore. She still hadn't forgotten their conversation the day before.
"Not anymore than you would feel if someone far away shot you in the head. The hormones in a pregnant woman cause the rabbit's system to slip into shock. It's like falling into a heavy sleep for them." Wesker reached out and stroked the rabbit's nose gently, his eyes falling on it with disinterest.
It was then that the rabbit quit breathing; it's legs jackhammering as if it were running; the mouth foaming and a high-pitched squealing issuing from it's throat. Claire's face plummeted, her hands busily trying to soothe the dying rabbit, but the animal was already in it's death throes; beyond her touches or her help. Wesker smirked; right on schedule.
"That was quick." Wesker scooped the corpse up, and dumped it carelessly in the trashcan by the door. Claire's face was still shocked; but she was more composed than a few moments ago; the information that the rabbit provided sinking in.
"You lied. That wasn't painless." Claire's voice was angry.
"I didn't lie, dear heart. It was already going brain dead shortly after I injected it. For some reason, the hormone in your system seems to be through the roof; at least three times more potent than what it's supposed to be."
"What's that supposed to mean exactly?"
"That means, dear heart, that even though your body is trying to kill the fetus that lives within you, the fetus has it's own defenses in line; although that amount of hormones can't be good for your system. I may have to inject you sooner than I'd planned, and that in itself could be dangerous." He pulled a pocket flashlight out, and flashed it in front of her eyes, going from right to left, left to right slowly, gaging her reactions. "How are you feeling? Any nausea? Dizziness? Rested? Tired?"
"I'm a little sick at the way that rabbit just died. And your inability to care." Claire stubbornly crossed her arms, staring at him as if she wished him to catch on fire spontaneously.
"Emotional; but that's normal. I wish that we had the lab here. I need to know how much serum to give you; guessing could be absolutely lethal."
"Then don't give me any serum."
"That too, dear heart, could kill you. We are in a catch 22, it would seem. Give you the serum, and I may cause you to slip into shock, depending on how your system deals with it after the fetus. Don't give you the serum, and watch as your condition deteriorates; too much of that hormone for too long can make you very ill; and lead to death if left untreated. Again, the only thing I can do is give you a low dose of the serum, and hope for the best." Wesker pulled out a syringe from his briefcase, and looking over his own chart, adjusted the dose for his own personal serum; PG67/A/W to meet Claire's needs....he hoped. It was necessary; whether or not she knew it, Claire's life was in danger. The fetus, not being totally human, made her body kick into overdrive to eject it. But also, not being human, the fetus' defenses would eventually kill the mother.
Theoretically.
He injected her in the neck; and her lips pursed into a thin line as the burning sensations began; he knew the feeling well. Disposing of the used needle, he jotted down a few notes to transfer to his computer later, and took her pulse, carefully counting out the beats. Normal so far. Claire's condition would have to be monitored constantly until he could get her into a stable environment.
Just 21 more hours, and they'd be on a plane to Cairo. On their way to safety. Worry furrowed his brow for the first time since his rebirth; he kissed her lips gently, hoping that she survived the next few hours.
"I love you, Claire Redfield." He said, wholeheartedly knowing that he meant it. Should she live, she'd be giving him the ultimate gift. A child with his own genetic makeup. He watched sadly as her eyelids drooped suddenly, and unconsciousness claimed her. He checked her pulse again; still not in the danger level. That was good; it meant that her body was processing the serum; it wasn't causing her to go into shock. However, he noticed a slight spike in her temperature. Frowning, he felt across her forehead.
Impossible! The virus sample in the serum was dead, only put in there to keep his own immune system top shape so that the Progenitor virus wouldn't mutate him. It couldn't be viable. His heart beat fast as he realized that her immune system may not be as strong as he had previously known it to be; the child must be taking a bigger toll on her than she let on.
He may very well have just infected her.
