CHAPTER 11

"Carlos told me about you."

Chris had spoken without even looking over his shoulder as Alice silently approached him. The kid was good.

It was the night after he, Alice, and Claire had returned from their rescue adventure, and Chris was on watch, sitting by the blazing fire, poking it with a long stick every few seconds to keep the crackling licks of flame alive and frenzied. There were a few logs wedged into the sand around the make shift fire pit, giving the convoy at least some semblance of shabby living room comfort. Alice sat on the log across from Chris.

"Carlos needs to learn to keep his mouth shut." Alice said with a small smile. Her friend was mouthy but he always had people's best interests in mind. She trusted him. "What did he say?"

Chris continued jabbing the stick into the heart of the fire, stirring the coals underneath to send short gusts of warm air into their faces.

"He said that you and he went way back. He told me about the start of the spill at Raccoon and how you ended up here. He said that you give off an intimidating first impression but you really just want to help people." He paused, taking another stab at the fire.

Alice raised her eyebrows, sensing that he had more to say. "And?"

"…and he said that my sister had really warmed up to you and I should trust her instincts." She saw Chris swallow hard as he slowly brought his gaze up to meet her blue green eyes, the flickering orange light shadowing his face in a menacing mask.

Alice held his stare, tilting her head slightly as she read the emotions on his face; something else beneath the anger and the hurt and the betrayal he projected. Fear.

Suddenly Alice understood. He wasn't afraid of her, per say, but of what she could do to Claire. He was a typical older brother; he didn't want Claire to get hurt, and knowing what he now did about Alice, about how Umbrella had been tracking her, using her for experimenting, pumping her full of virus… she understood that it wasn't easing his mind about the situation. Mix that together with the interest he had had in her when they were first introduced, and the deceiving Claire had done not telling him about them, and she could have one very angry, resentful man on her hands.

"Do you know what Claire's first instincts about me were?" She asked him, trying to figure out how to approach the situation best.

Chris was silent; just narrowed his eyes a little more.

"She hated me. Wanted me gone from the minute she saw me." Alice worked hard to keep a smile off her face as she spoke. "You have the same first instincts, you two. Go with your gut, Chris. Go with your gut and hopefully you'll feel the same way your sister does now." She paused, furrowing her brow slightly. "Well, maybe not exactly how she does…"

Chris let out a small laugh and shook his head. "Been there, done that." He said.

The two fell into a semi-comfortable silence, and Alice felt that the situation was a little better now. Chris would warm up to her again with time.

Alice heard soft footsteps approaching the fire from behind her, stealthy and purposeful. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Chris asked, taking a break from his poking stick to look at his sister.

"I'm fine, Chris." Claire entered Alice's line of vision, halting the blonde's breath for a few seconds. Claire touched each index finger to her nose in turn, then mock-walked a straight line. "See? Any more questions, officer?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Keep it up, little sister, and you'll be right back in that sick bed." He couldn't hide the joking twinkle in his eyes.

Claire stuck her tongue out at him playfully and sat down next to Alice. Close. She saw Chris tense up a bit, his shoulders straightening up; eyes flashing towards the small amount of space between the two women. Then he inhaled deeply and went back to stoking the fire.

Claire looked over at Alice for the first time since joining the two around the dancing flames. Tucking long red hair behind her ear, she uttered a small "Hey," quiet and shy.

Alice blinked slowly, saving the mental picture like a snapshot in her head, and smiled roguishly. "Hey back." She said in her rough voice. "Still feeling alright?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"You would have done the same for me, I'm sure." Alice said, trying to play it off. The look Claire was giving her was… intense; a look that shouldn't be shared in front of her brother.

It's like eye sex, Alice thought. Her body thrummed with the thought of naked Claire anywhere near her, but again, her attention shifted quickly to Chris, sitting across the fire from them, watching his sister warily. That is uncomfortable…

Claire had inched closer discretely, like a magnet to Alice. She could see the steady rise and fall of the red head's chest, and she wondered if Claire could feel the rapid thumping of Alice's heart through the log seat they shared.

"Let's just say you owe me one now," Claire said, nudging the blonde with her shoulder. Liquid fire trailed down Alice's arm at the touch.

"Oh yeah?" She decided to play along. Screw Chris listening in, he'd know when to leave. "So I guess you forgot about the other day when I saved you're sorry ass from an undead."

Claire's face reddened a bit and she bit her lip in an embarrassed smile. "Trueee. So I guess I owe you, then." She swung her leg over the log to straddle the wooden seat, bringing her a few more inches closer to Alice. "I'll have to think of some way to make it up to you."

Alice's head swam with the implication, a thousand scenarios flashing behind her eyelids in a matter of seconds, and she forgot to breathe.

"Don't make any promises you're not going to keep, now." She told Claire, letting her know that their minds were in the same spot. Or so she hoped.

"I wouldn't worry so much if I were you."

Alice had to move away a bit, noticing that Claire's smell had coaxed the blonde a little too close for friendly proximity. She saw Claire frown slightly, and Alice motioned towards the silent Chris with her eyes.

Claire rolled her eyes as if to say "really? He'll get over it," then yawned and stretched her arms.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Chris, Mikey should be out soon for watch if you need to sleep."

"I'm alright for a little while. Goodnight, Claire." He gave her a hard to place look, and then she was walking toward the SUV, opening the back door, and climbing in. As soon as she was out of sight, Chris let out a huge yawn.

Alice raised an eyebrow at him. "Should be alright for a little while, huh?" She quoted him with a knowing smirk.

"I just want to keep an eye on her." He said, glancing towards the car. "She may act tough most of the time, but people forget how young she is. She can handle a lot, but one of these days she's going to break. So I want to keep an eye on her."

Alice nodded, and the two fell into silence again. She waited until Chris's head drooped down to his chest and he let out a few soft snores, then she went to find Mikey to let him know it was his turn for watch.

Then she made her way over to the SUV, and knocked lightly on the back door.