Going back to writing feels great! Enjoy it, folks!

Sheva saw his face clearly, madly walking towards her. Wait. It wasn't her. It was Jill. He grabbed her face. Sheva couldn't anything. No! She shouted, but her voice couldn't be heard since she was inside a glass tube, or something like that. He paralyzed Jill and put his dirty hands inside her stomach, pulling the fetus out. Jill cried out, agonizing in pain, as she hit the floor.

'Noooo!' Sheva screamed, jumping out of bed and rushing to get a gun. Except she had none and she didn't need one either. She looked around. She was in London, alone, and the clock showed 3am. She sighed deeply and put her hands over her eyes. It had seemed so real, so clear. Could that monster be alive? She thought of calling Josh or Jill, but she remembered she had to look like she knew nothing. It had been three days since Jill escaped and the BSAA had been looking for her like crazy. She hadn't called Josh yet. She promised him she would give it a week until things were back to 'normal' and no one was desperately chasing after Jill.

She went back to bed, trying to sleep, still trying to shake her nightmare off. If only Chris was there to talk to her. This secret was consuming her. He had noticed that she had been distant and 'cold', but the truth was that it was really hard not to share something so important with the one she loved. She had made up her mind. She would find a way of telling him. He said things were doing good in Texas, at least apparently. She just hoped she could tell him in person, looking at his eyes.

Claire and Leon were on the way to the airport, running a little late. His flight to Chicago was taking off one hour before her flight to New York. He didn't seem to be in a hurry and that was driving her mad.

'Leon, do you want to miss this flight?'

'Yeah, in fact we should both miss them.'

'Ugh, Leon, come on, we're late!'

She didn't know what was about to come. Leon smirked maliciously as she rushed to put her bags in the trunk of the cab.

They arrived at the Heathrow at 8am and his flight was leaving in 45 minutes. Are you serious, Leon? She thought to herself. She hated how he only did what he wanted, whenever and however he wanted.

She stopped trying dragging Leon to the gate and looked at him with an unbelievable face. He gave her a crooked smile.

'What the hell, Leon? I don't want to say goodbye, either, but that's being irresponsible.'

Leon came closer to Claire and cupped her face. He didn't care they were in a public place. He kissed her lightly and gave her an envelope. Claire opened it clueless and saw airline tickets in there. She looked back to Leon's eyes and saw they looked naughty. What has he done, for Christ's sake?

It was a ticket to New York, under his name. Her mouth opened to a perfect O circle as she looked at him with questioning eyes.

'That's where we're both going, Claire. No need to rush now, right?'

She gasped in surprise.

'But Leon, what about your meeting in Chicago?' She always tried reasoning, that was typically Claire, he thought.

'Canceled. Do you think a meeting will stop me from being with you a little longer? I need some damn vacation.' He let out one of his most charming smiles.

'My place is a mess.' She said with worry, trying to make up reasons not to understand what was going on.

'I don't care. As long as I am in the mess with you.'

His lips touched hers delicately and she thought for one second that she was falling down. His rusky voice woke her up from her reverie.

'There is another small envelope you didn't see.'

She opened the big envelope again and saw a smaller one inside, in beige color. She had been so focused on the airline ticket that she had forgotten about the other envelope.

Leon wished he could freeze that moment for the rest of his life: when her blue eyes sparkled with surprise at what she saw. A beautiful ring with a small sapphire stone lay in Claire's palm. She became speechless.

'That… is so beautiful.'

'Well, I remember you once mentioned, when we were in Morocco, that you loved sapphires because they matched your hair.' They both smiled. 'And you also said you didn't want a diamond because of how many people end up in misery because of one tiny stone. So I thought you'd like this one that I know it's legitimately 'not condemned'.' He chuckled. 'I know it's not that different, but I had good intention.' He said simply, smirking at his own comment.

Claire couldn't believe what she was hearing.

'So… does it mean...'

'In fact, it'll mean whatever you want, Claire. Either a sweet gift from the man you love… or a gift from the man who wants to marry you.'

The world span around her. She couldn't hear anything in the loud airport. She could just see his eyes. Charming eyes. Eyes that had just told her he wanted to be with her. Forever. How could this be true? Was she dreaming?

'Claire.' He called, waking her up again.

'Thanks… It's really beautiful.'

'So,' he asked anxiously, 'what will it be?'

She looked deeply in his eyes and smiled.

'A gift from the one I want to be with.' She paused. 'Hopefully forever.'

Leon smiled at her honest comment and kissed her with passion again. He broke the kiss and their heads glued together.

'I love you, Claire.'

'I love you, too, babe.'

3 hours later…

Her head rested on his shoulder when they were in the plane, right after it took off from Heathrow. She looked at the ring that perfectly fit her finger.

'Sorry I had to put it in an envelope. I just wanted to surprise you.'

'That was the best surprise I've ever had.' She said, eyes fixed on the stone.

'I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression. I want to be with you and I want to marry you someday, Claire. But we don't have to rush.'

'No, we don't. It's been so perfect that I'm scared of moving fast. But I didn't say no to you, Leon. I do want to marry you. I just want to live day by day for a while.'

Their eyes met as she lifted her head up.

'You're definitely my girl.' Leon smiled as he held her closer to him and kissed her forehead.

Finally together…

Jill looked outside the window. She loved watching the hard rain. Not that thin type of rain in America, that only annoyed people and caused traffic. She loved the sound of it hitting the brick roof of Josephine's house. She looked at herself in the mirror and she liked what she saw. She was wearing a long green dress that she'd borrowed from Josephine. It was tight to her body and she could see the small bump in her stomach. She couldn't believe that even after being raped, she couldn't still hate that child. She wondered if she was crazy. What if the child had issues? The doctor couldn't see anything wrong with the child yet, but it was too soon. She felt like she was betraying Chris in letting him out of that, but she thought it was wise. Chris cared way too much about her and if she knew her friend the way she thought she did, she knew that he would drop everything, meet her, and talk her into an abortion. That's why she needed the support from friends like Sheva or Josh. They were not so close to her yet, and it was easier not to make judgments. Besides she could tell they were more conservative and would do everything to save a child.

Jill was very hot so she tied her hair up, even though Josephine told her not to. She had just colored it brown. She hated what had happened to her hair, that awful discolorization after all those experiments. Memories of Excella crushed her mind again. She hated that b*** so much. She wanted her to burn in hell along with Wesker.

Josh's voice interrupted her line of thoughts.

'Wow, who is the pretty brunette that no one introduced me to yet?'

Jill couldn't help but smiling at his sense of humor.

'I thought you liked me blonde better.'

'Well. Hair color doesn't really matter, but I actually think you look nicer this way.'

'As I said before, I bet you say this to every woman, Mr. Stone.'

'Again, only the pretty ones, Miss Valentine.'

They laughed in a comrade mood.

'But seriously, how are you holding on?'

'Fine, Josh. A lot of nausea, but I guess it's normal. By the way, Josephine is an angel.'

'Well, I'm lucky to have her as a sister.'

'Guess you never told me that, brother.' Josephine said, showing up and giving Josh a hug. 'In fact, Miss Valentine is a great company. But how stubborn she is!'

'Me? Why, Josephine?' Jill asked, untying her hair, like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.

'Well, first of all she talks me into dying her hair. Pregnant women shouldn't dye their hair. It could kill the baby!'

Jill laughed at her comment.

'Since when? People do it all the time.'

'Well, it's okay now, Miss Valentine, but you'd better watch for your health. You know your state is… delicate. We don't know what to expect.'

Jill sighed, in agreement.

'I know, dear. Thank you for reminding me of being a good girl all the time.'

'Man, I knew you were trouble.' Josh said, smiling and walking back to the kitchen. 'Why does God always send me complicate women to watch for?'

They laughed and dined together like a harmonious family. Jill wished she could freeze moments like those for a little while. She felt her body freeze at the thought of what was about to come.

Something was wrong. Definitely wrong, Chris thought. Things hadn't been perfect between Sheva and him since he left. He knew it wasn't a distance issue. She had seemed worried, unfocused, and in a hurry to get off the phone. Then Jill disappeared out of nothing. His senses were never wrong. He knew Jill wasn't dead after she jumped out of that window with Wesker and he had been right. He also sensed that Sheva knew what was going on. Why was she keeping something like that from him? Maybe she couldn't talk. But she was involved.

He looked at his watch. His plane was leaving in fifteen minutes. He couldn't believe he got dismissed so easily. He begged Barry for leaving. He wasn't in a good mood for constant fights with Jessica when his long time partner had just vanished. Barry simply nodded at his request to leave and said: 'Go figure it out, Redfield. Personal issues way more complicated than what we do here.'

One week had passed by quickly to Jill, but it felt like years to Sheva. She called Josephine's house through a disposable cell phone and couldn't be any happier when she heard Jill's voice on the line. She seemed more than fine, cheery and in very good mood. She kept Sheva posted in all the details since she had come back to Africa. According to her quick paced descriptions, she went back to being a sexy brunette; her nauseas were killing her but she would be all fine after ten minutes with her head in the toilet; Josephine's food was heavenly and she wouldn't stop munching on kanyahs (typical African snacks made of peanuts) and coconut pies; she worried about getting fat and losing her waistline. Sheva smiled at her flowing streaming description and tried to imagine a woman like her, full of fire and determination, surviving in a calm and peaceful village in West Africa.

'But tell me. How've you been?' Jill asked, focusing totally on her friend now.

'Good. Nothing much going on.' Sheva answered firmly, knowing her life was a little chaotic at the moment with all the changes.

'How's Chris?'

'He left me a message yesterday. He thinks he'll be done by the end of the week. Apparently he and Jessica are still on cat fights.'

'Ha ha ha. I love it when he fights with those stubborn new agents that won't agree with him. Lovely.'

'Well, I told him to stop being so pig-headed and see her point too.'

'But… that's not what I asked, Sheva.'

Sheva sighed deeply and Jill could definitely hear her tension.

'It's been tough, Jill. He knows I'm up to something.'

'What do you mean? Does he know…?'

'It's not a secret anymore, Jill. Everyone knows you ran away. He was quickly informed. You have no idea what I had to deal with the day after you ran away.'

'I'm sorry…'

'Well, your secret is safe. But I think he knows I'm involved.'

'Sheva… I promise you. I won't let him be mad at you. I'll tell him I practically forced you into this mess.'

'It's okay, Jill. Your safety is very important now.'

'So is he to you, Sheva. If you feel it's time, you can tell him. I know how honest you are and you haven't been yourself lately because of me. I feel guilty.'

'Hold on a second. There's someone at the door.'

Sheva hurried to the door. Who could it be that late? Claire and Leon had left already and she hadn't befriended any of her coworkers enough to invite them in. Her jaw felt heavy at the sight of him standing at the door, with his blue backpack unceremoniously hanging on his shoulder.

'Chris…' She muttered inaudibly.

'Hey. Good to see you.' He said with a mysterious and dark smile.

'I'll call you later…' Sheva whispered to Jill on the phone.

Chris gently took the phone out of her hands and placed on his right ear.

'How are you doing, Jill?'

Jill's head was spinning and she almost hit the floor, when she felt a hand supporting her back behind her. Josh. He asked her what was going on, but she wouldn't respond to him.

'Chris…' It was all she could say.

'Are you okay?' He asked calmly and slowly.

'Yes…' She quietly responded in a whisper.

'Where are you?' His gaze never left Sheva's, as he closed the door behind him. His lover felt her blood getting colder at the revelation of Jill's escape.

'Africa. Don't worry about me. I just… want to have my baby.'

'What?' His eyes grew wider.

'I'm pregnant. And you know what BSAA will do if they find out.'

'How come… Wait a minute. Wesker?' He circled around Sheva's room like a hurricane.

'Yes. Sheva will explain it all to you, Chris. I'm sorry but I didn't want to jeopardize your mission. It's not her fault, I swear. I practically made her do that.'

'Who's guarding you?'

'Josh.'

'Hum…'

'Chris. Later. Take care of Sheva now, she's been through a lot. So have we. Good night.'

He heard nothingness as he pressed the END button of her phone. His eyes were still locked on hers and Sheva couldn't tell what he was feeling. She moved away from his gaze and walked to the kitchen to get some water, finding some reason not confront him that late at night.'

'I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, Chris. I was dying to, but Jill asked me not to for a while.'

He didn't respond, just staring fixedly at her.

'Look', she said impatiently, 'you can be mad at me, or even hate me. I won't blame you. Just… don't tell me what I was supposed to do because you were not on my shoes.' She paused to drink her water. 'She wants to have Wesker's child. Let her have her damn child and deal with that.' She was shocked at the mean tone of her own voice.

The sound of her glass hitting the granite counter echoed through her small flat. She was wrapped on a warm robe but she still felt nervously cold.

Chris lowered his gaze.

'I just can't believe you left me out of this. I trusted you, Sheva. I trusted both you and Jill and now…' He stopped talking, but she knew what he meant. He was hurt by their attitude of leaving him in the dark. She wasn't sure if he was going to trust her anymore. Oh well…

'It's all my fault.' Jill spilled, trying to fight the shakiness of her hands while holding the glass of water.

'It's going to be fine, Jill. You did what you had to do.'

'No, I didn't, Josh. I involved you and Sheva in this mess. I was selfish and I didn't care if you two would be in trouble. You know you can both lose your jobs because of me.'

'Well, I confess that in the beginning I also thought this was a way too crazy. But seeing you now I can tell that your maternal instincts are bigger than anything. And I get that.'

He smiled and his words warmed her and diminished a bit of her guilt and fear. He was right. She was a mother now and she cared about her child more than anything.

'I just… don't understand why I care so much about this child, Josh. I still don't get it. I never wanted to be a mother and I knew that in the past I would have considered an abortion. So why this now?'

'I'm no woman to answer you that.' She smiled at his remark. 'But that's the magic of pregnancy. It changes people. We'll help you, Jill. You'll have this baby, stay here a while and then…' Josh paused, not sure what her plans were yet.

'And then I don't know…' She laughed at her own predicament.

'Well, live day by day. Go back to sleep. Tomorrow Josephine will take you to town to shop and if I know my sister well, she'll make you walk for hours.'

She felt happy. Living a simple life at Josephine's house was making her feel relaxed and peaceful. She wanted to focus on the present, on being healthy for the baby. But she needed to think of the future. She fell asleep at the thought of what holding her baby in her arms would feel like.

Sheva woke up from her light sleep with his weight on her bed. He shifted to her side and held her close, behind her back. She was surprised she had fallen asleep after all.

Chris hadn't said much, but his silence was even more hurtful than words. She had told him that there was nothing that could be done now and he had to deal with that. Besides she wouldn't be apologizing to him the whole night. If he wanted to leave her the door was still open. She was surprised that she could have been able to say that, even though she didn't mean it. But she wouldn't cope with an accusing boyfriend at this point. She was tired and she felt she had done the right thing. Chris stopped talking to her for the rest of the night and just sat down by the TV, browsing channels and avoiding her presence.

She could feel his breath on her left ear.

'I'm sorry, Sheva.'

'You did nothing wrong.' She said in a whisper.

'Neither did you.'

She turned her head to him.

'Do you think so?'

'I admire how much you care for people. But please, don't hide anything from me again. I promise I won't interfere on your decisions. I'm not like that.' His eyes were mellow and honest. Her heart melted at the sight of that amazing man beside her. She smiled, touching his face.

'I'm sorry I scolded you and told you to leave.'

He smiled and she could tell he wasn't hurt.

'I knew you didn't mean it, love. You were just being who you are: an amazing friend and human being. Totally selfless. I'm proud you helped Jill. It's just that I care for her a lot and worry about her running away with… Wesker's child.' He shook the thought of his head.

'She'll be fine. We'll take care of her.' She looked deeply into his dark blue eyes. 'I've missed you, Chris.'

'So have I, Sheva.' He moved a strand of hair out of her face. 'Guess I haven't kissed you yet.'

She chuckled and shifted to his side.

'What are you waiting for?'

'Are you sure this is a good idea?' He teased her skin on top of her breast with is thumb. 'I'm 'hungry' for you. I'll keep you awake all night if I start. Don't want you to have dark circles when you show up at work…' He smiled maliciously.

Sheva responded his teasing by gently placing her hand underneath his undershirt and caressing his hard chest.

'I'm off tomorrow.'

His eyes had almost turned black and she could see the furious desire in them. Chris devoured her mouth, kissing her with every intention he had. She couldn't tell how long it took him to be inside her but she would guess it was less than ten seconds. His eyes wouldn't leave hers as he pressed into her, muttering inaudibly that he loved her.

Things had finally back to normal, she thought, happy and sated with his release inside her.

Jill couldn't go to sleep that night. Josephine's herbal tea hadn't helped much. It was still raining and she tried to focus on the raindrops hitting her window. After a long time, she fell into a deep sleep.

She was in a beautiful garden, wearing a hat to cover her tired eyes from the sun and a long dress. She could see her own brown hair dancing on the wind as she gazed at the river. When she turned around, she saw him. He was calmly staring at her, and she could see his own eyes as he had no sunglasses. 'Finally, together.' He told her, walking slowly towards her. He touched her huge belly delicately and stared at her eyes. 'The three of us.'