A/N: I am very grateful to all the readers for taking out time to read, and the reviewer, Shirahane Aikawa, for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil or any or its characters; they all belong to Capcom.

Chapter 10

Leon pulled up his car in front of the place and looked at Kathleen, who was looking out of her car window to see where exactly he had brought her. She turned to look at him and he smiled when she gave him, more or less, an unimpressed expression. He didn't say anything and got out of the car and rounded up to get the door for Kate.

"A park?!", Kate said doubtfully, stepping out of the car, "this is your big surprise?"
"More or less", he answered letting Shadow out and locking the car.
"Well you could have told me earlier", she said as he led her inside the park, "I mean we've been to the park before, not this one but it won't be that much different, right?"
"Well you decide for yourself", Leon said in response as they walked on a stone path lined by beautiful flowers on either sides.
"What do you mean?", she couldn't help but asked, his sentence had piqued her excitement a little.
"Surprise!", he turned her to make her look at the actual place he wanted her to see.

Kathleen's jaw dropped seeing the place Leon had brought her this time. She was hoping that he would take her to the garden, since he knew she liked to sit and read in the garden but he had brought her to the lake, a very beautiful lake. They both silently walked to the marble white gazebo structure floating on the edge of the lake, which was adorned by beautiful floral wines that were in full bloom. She could see snow white swans swimming in the water and few pairs of couple sitting by the lake enjoying the view. This was a dream place to be in and more than a perfect place to enjoy a good book.

Leon looked at Kate; the look on her face was more than self explanatory that she really liked the surprise. She looked at him and smiled brightly and gratefully, and he couldn't help but feel content and a little proud in accomplishing this little task; seeing her smile beautifully like that were the moments he really looked forward to, it was really captivating and Leon forgot all his troubles when she smiled at him.

"Leon, this is…", Kathleen began taking in the view, "very romantic!", she turned to look at him.
"I am glad you liked it", Leon said with a smile.
"I loved it", she told him the truth, "Thank you!", she added gratefully sitting on the bench.
"You're welcome!", Leon said taking a seat by her side.

Kathleen smiled once more before opening her book and starting to read, like usual. Shadow settled himself at their feet and Leon couldn't help but watch her read. He couldn't help but involuntary notice her every movement, the way she flipped the page, the way her eyes traced the lines on the book and the cluster of minor expressions she made in reaction to the plot. He always admired watching her read because he could always feel that they were communicating even in that silence.

"Leon, are you staring at me?", Kate asked him turning her head to look at him, after a while.
"No, I am just looking", he replied not taking his eyes of her luminous face.
"Are you flirting now?", she asked with a smile.
"You look really beautiful today", he told her in not more than a whisper.

She smiled tilting her head to one side, "And you look tired", she stated in a very serious tone, "Do you even sleep?", she asked and he didn't reply, somehow he knew that if he'd lie she'd know right away since she had started reading him like one of her books now, "Why don't you take some rest? I'll wake you up when it's time to leave."
"Is that why you wanted to go out", he asked her in amazement for not seeing it through.
"Well I didn't get you here to stare at me", she smiled at him, "You can't have any rest with Kevin around so… "
"Thanks", it was Leon's turn to be grateful, "but I can't really sleep on the job."
"Sleep like you always do, part asleep-part awake", she said and he couldn't help but smile.

"If you say so", Leon said relaxing on the bench and closing his eyes to drift into the pseudo sleep that although relaxed his body but still kept him aware of his surroundings, after all he was supposed to be protecting Kate and if he drifts into a deep sleep then it would just put her in danger.

"Leon", Leon woke up to Kathleen's soft voice and felt her hand on his face, "Wake up!", he opened his eyes and found her leaning over him.
"Is it time to leave", he asked her rubbing his eyes a little.
"Way past it", she replied smiling at him warmly, "it's already 9:00 PM."
"Why didn't you wake me up then?", he asked not really making a move to leave, for some reason he felt really comfortable.
"I got absorbed in my book", she made an excuse but he easily saw through it. She sat up straight and he realized that he was keeping his head on her lap.

"How did I get here?", he asked her not lifting his head from her lap. He was in a subconscious sleep but he really had no idea how he ended up using her lap as a pillow.
"You looked really uncomfortable sleeping like that, so I moved you to be a little more comfortable", she told him and the blood rushed to her face making it go red.
"Yeah I am much more comfortable this way", he smiled up at her, making her blush even more, "mind if I sleep more?", he asked her jokingly.
"No", she said with a slight shake of her head, "Sleep as much as you like", she added opening her book.
"So why you woke me up?", he asked her, if she didn't want to go home then it must be something important.
"Well I thought that you were having a nightmare maybe", she replied and he couldn't read her expressions since her face was hidden with the book.
"Do I sleep talk?", he asked her wondering what told her that he was having a nightmare.
"No, why?", she asked looking him over her book.
"Nothing", he said letting out a sigh and sitting up, "Let's head back home."

Leon stood up, stretched and gave his hand to Kathleen, and she took it but the moment she stood up she was falling over Leon. Leon held her by her waist and supported her, as she laughed a little and he looked at her confused, "My legs are gone numb, being in the same position for so long", she told him grabbing hold of his jacket, to help her stand.
"No problem I can carry you", Leon said and without a thought lifted her up in his arms.
"Leon!", she exclaimed at his sudden action, hooking her arms around his neck from the fear of falling.
"What?", Leon asked turning his head to look at her, not realizing the awkwardness of situation.
"Nothing", she replied mesmerized by his blue eyes, which all of sudden made her very comfortable in his arms, "You should put me down, it must be troublesome holding me up like this", she said even though she didn't really want him to do that.
"Well you're pretty light", he told her with a smile, "lightest among all the women I carried, including your cousin."

"Is that so?", Kathleen said not looking away from his handsome face.
"Yes", he replied with a smile and set her back on the ground when she was least expecting it.
"You said I was not heavy", she almost complained not moving away from him, her hands still resting against his chest.
"I thought you might be uncomfortable, I didn't think much before lifting you up like that", Leon admitted his little mistake.
"I wasn't", she told him in not more than a whisper.

Leon looked into the dark blue orbs, that were her eyes and he had this sudden urge to kiss her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and then felt her grab the front of his jacket. It was as if their bodies were moving on their own. Their hearts paced up and breaths became short as they both inched closer and closer with each passing second. They both closed their eyes as they felt each other's breath on their face.

Just before they could even touch each other's lips, Leon's phone buzzed disturbing them. They opened their eyes and looked at each other awkwardly before taking a step away from each other. Kathleen blushed, turning a thousand shades of red, and hoped Leon didn't notice it. Leon took out his phone, pushed the call receive button and put it against his ear.

"Kennedy", He answered in usual professional tone, not looking at Kate.
"Leon, elder miss is nowhere to be found. Is she with you?", Hunnigan asked him in a tone of urgency.
"Yeah, she is but I am bringing her back now", Leon informed her, "You haven't informed the President about it, have you?"
"Well Ashley already told him that she's missing from White House but luckily the President trusts you and just asked me to confirm that she's with you, and also to tell you to not keep her out this late", Hunnigan replied.
"Well one thing led to another and we lost track of time", Leon explained vaguely, "I'll get her back right away."
"Please do. I'll inform the President right away, he must be worried", she said in response.
"Okay", Leon agreed and then disconnected.

"What happened?", Kathleen asked him concerned hoping that he did not get in trouble for keeping her out till late.
"Well we worried your uncle a little bit staying out this long", Leon answered her and she gave him a concerned look, "but no negative effects."
"Thank god!", she sighed in relief.
"Let's get you home", Leon said and they both started moving back to his car.

Kathleen rubbed her arms a little and the next moment Leon was putting his jacket on her shoulders. She thanked him gratefully and they continued to walk in silence, not really knowing what to talk to each other. Besides the fact that they almost kissed each other was a fresh memory in their mind, making any sort of casual conversation difficult. The thought was awkward, embarrassing and exciting, all at the same time. She looked sideways at Leon from the corner of her eyes and wondered if he was thinking the same, when he caught her looking at him. He jerked his head asking what she was looking at and she shook her head a little nervously telling him it was nothing.

Leon just smiled and unlocked his car and got the door for her like usual, before getting in himself. He straight away drove for home and silence still surrounded them. Kathleen turned in her seat to look at him again, in an attempt to read him, something she had been doing a lot lately. Ashley had told him that he was a hard to read person but Kathleen thought he was just like a well illustrated book, with every emotion clearly written across his face and the most expressive thing on his face were his gorgeous pair of sky blue eyes.

Her heart just sped up and started beating tenfold as she remembered the emotion she had just seen in his eyes. And it wasn't the first time she was reading it; every time she looked in his eyes without a miss she could read 'love' in them. She had tried to ignore it since she knew that he already had some woman in his life. Ashley had done a great job in describing the woman of his life and Kathleen knew that she was nothing like her. She let out a sad sigh and tried to make herself remember that he wasn't her type either, being an agent, a profession that she wasn't really fond of much but deep inside she knew that her heart had already looked past that minor flaw of his professional title and started loving him for who he really was personally.

"Is something bothering you?", Leon asked Kate, since she had been too much quiet, even for herself. He couldn't help but think if it was because he had almost crossed the line and almost kissed her, and if she started feeling insecure or uncomfortable in his company.
"No, nothing like that", she told him shaking her head and her words didn't sound insincere, "Is something bothering you?", she asked him back.
"No", Leon sort of lied. He didn't know where his relationship with Kate was going; he didn't even know where to take it either, if he should keep it professional and be the watchdog or if he should pursue her on a personal level and tell her the feelings he held for her, "Why?", he asked casually.
"Well you seem a little bothered just now so I was just asking", she replied in a casual tone, "I understand if you don't want to discuss, since it's something personal."
"It's nothing like that", he decided to keep his feelings to himself, at least for now.
"But there is something", it was more of a statement than question and Leon didn't deny it, since she'd see through his lies anyway, "So I'd make random guesses then… Is my uncle not paying you enough?", she asked and he let out a laugh and shook his head, ironically he was very well paid for his job, "Any family troubles?"

"I have no living relatives", Leon reminded her with an evident sadness in his tone and she regretted bringing that up.
"I am so sorry", she apologized, cursing herself inwardly.
"It's alright", he said with a slight smile.
"So, is it that you don't like to hang around with the 'silent one' anymore?", she asked biting her lower lip in anticipation, thinking that possibly it wasn't really a fun job watching over someone who reads all day long.
"Nope, I love my job", he told her smiling.
"So then… perhaps it's love?", she said tilting her head to one side and his expressions told her that indeed love was making his heart ache, "So it is love!", she tried to sound cheerful, "Who's the lucky girl? Oh wait Ashley told me about her…", she was saying.

"It's not related to her either", Leon cut her in between as they reached the White House, "And we are here!"
Kathleen looked out of the car window and definitely could see the White House building, "Oh… I didn't notice", she said as Leon got out to get the door for her.
"So see you tomorrow and have a good night", Leon wished her with a sincere smile.
She again looked in his eyes and read the same emotion again, "Good night", she wished him, placing a kiss on his cheek, "I hope you can solve whatever is bothering you", she smiled at him, "Sleep well alright!"
"You too", he wished her back and she just gave him a nod of acknowledgement before she started to walk up the stone steps leading inside the White House.

Kathleen walked up straight to her room, deciding to skip dinner since she already felt full. She changed into her sleepwear and lied down on the bed holding her teddy bear close, the one that Leon had won for her. A million thoughts crossed her mind and each one concerning with Leon. If he reached his home yet; if he had dinner; if he was already asleep or if he was thinking about her like she was thinking about him and if he even thought about her. And if he did, then what exactly did he think about her and if he could ever love her?

She tightly embraced the teddy in her arms, fearing the worse and worrying about the unpleasant turn of events or similar. She closed her eyes and tried to play the tape of all the good memories she had with Leon, to distract herself from thinking about the dreadful things, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I sincerely apologize for any grammatical mistakes or typos.