His eyes opened with a snap. He was awake and aware. But when he moved to sit up, firm hands attempted to push him back down. Sherry's face was firm and determined, and his was impassible. They stayed like that for a long moment, and then she relented.

"You'll do whatever you want anyway," she said as she took her hands from his shoulders and stepped back. "You're a lucky son of a bitch, you know that right? If you hadn't been completely overdosed with C-Veronica, you'd have been ashes."

"That is what she's been substituting my serum with?" His voice barely showed his surprise, but his ward had lived with him long enough to be able to hear it.

"Couldn't begin to tell you why, but yes. She's been pumping you full of the stuff for over a month now. I'm guessing you know where the overdose came from?"

"Indeed."

Sherry didn't bother to be frustrated. Wesker was always such a font of information. "Good thing for it then. It saved your life. It kept Uroboros from bonding with your system. But…"

He just gave her a look, not bothering to prompt her. They'd done this dance for the better part of ten years. It was familiar ground.

"It's seriously messed with your hormones and other chemical processes." She handed him a small stack of paper print outs. "Which would explain why you tried to jump Claire's bones as soon as you crawled out of the lava pit." That got her a reaction. His look of shock would have been unreadable to most others, but Sherry knew this man well, and the sharp look he gave her said she'd caught him very off guard. "You don't remember that?"

"No."

Sherry let it go. If he said no, he either meant it or it was his way of telling her to mind her own. Whatever the case, she could only imagine what he was feeling right now. Though anger was likely at the top of the list. Wesker didn't like being manipulated. In any sense of the word.

"She's up on the deck. She's been hovering for hours, and I couldn't convince her to sleep. I didn't think it best to wake you with her in the room. Chemicals and all."

He didn't even say thank you before he left the lab.

The air was warm and clean, but it did little to soothe her. Her mind was in turmoil. What was happening to her? He was her enemy. He'd kill her only family without a thought given a chance. But she hadn't been thinking about her brother when she's seen the crashed bomber. She'd been thinking about Wesker. She'd been desperate to find him alive. And when she did, it was like she'd been granted a miracle. Her whole being had wanted to weep with relief.

But why?

"It was all some kind of game, wasn't it?" She turned around and faced him. He'd been so silent, she shouldn't have known he was there, but she'd felt him. Like a press of heat at her back, even though he was a good ten feet away from her. "She was playing with us like we were dolls."

"Alexia has always had her own agendas."

He'd found a pair of pants somewhere, but the rest of him was bare. Even his feet. It seemed so strange to her. He was always impeccably dressed. And yet, he looked so right, just a barely standing on this side of civilized. He epitomized the balance between monster and man. It should have repulsed her.

"I'm going to ask something from you. And I figure you owe it to me." He said nothing in response, just raised an eyebrow. "Leave my brother alone. I won't tell him you're alive, so please do me a courtesy and don't go after him."

"Revenge is not the first thing on my mind, dear heart."

She swallowed hard. She knew she shouldn't say it, but she couldn't help herself. Her whole being was practically humming for him. "Then what is?"

As she knew he would, he crossed the distance between them in a few long strides. His hands threaded into her hair, cupping the back of her head firmly, and he kissed her. It was like a floodgate opening. She suddenly couldn't get close enough, couldn't take enough of him in. They kissed like they were drowning and each other their only air.

And then, for the second time in two days, he was taken from her.

He stiffened, causing her to pull back and look into his eyes. After all, why would he stop now? And then she saw the frozen shock before he slumped down at her feet. She went down on her knees beside him, searching for what might be wrong.

"Sherry!!!" She shouted it as loud as her lungs could manage. And then she saw it. A small white dart sticking out of the middle of his back. She reached to pull it out, but a hand slapped closed around her wrist.

"Sorry, that can't come out yet." Claire's eyes shot wide when she realized who had ahold of her.

"Steve?!"

He smiled at her and yanked her up to her feet. "Hello Claire. Did you miss me?"

Sherry hit the deck at a sprint, but she was too late. She found Wesker lying in a heap on the deck and Claire was no where to be found.

She found the dart that had been shot into his spine and unceremoniously yanked it out. Touching the tip to her tongue, she spat on the deck. "Paralytic agent. Nasty one too." He stirred and she helped him to sit up. "Apparently, she's not looking to kill you. Any idea where they went?

"I soon will."

A/N: And that is the end for this! Yes, I know it's short, but as I've said before, I'm not writing a term paper here. I'll be working on the third part soon, so keep an eye out. Thanks everyone for reading!