~Frozen~

Steve was provided with the food Claire had promised him that day, and it felt great to eat so much. It took three days for Steve to recover, then he was released from the ward. Claire and Leon both did everything they could in order to build the perfect cryogenic chamber, but Steve acted like nothing was going on. In all honesty, he didn't want to think about being frozen for fifteen years. But the day soon came when Claire came into his room.

"Good morning," she said softly. Steve, who was only in his boxers since he hadn't gotten himself dressed, gave her a glum reply.

"What's good about it?" he grunted. Claire let out a sigh.

"Steve, we've been over this," she reminded him. "You're gonna be just fine, alright?"

"Fine?" Steve responded lowly, lifting himself into a sitting position as he glared at Claire. "I'm going to be asleep, frozen, for fifteen whole years. I won't see you for fifteen years. I won't be awake on my eighteenth birthday. Or my twenty-first. I'll wake up and I'll be over thirty years old, Claire, and I won't even know how to pay bills."

Claire sat on the bed beside him, wrapping her arm around him and holding him close. "Steve," she began again. "You're going to wake up and finally be in control of the virus in your system. You won't get these weird cravings for flesh and you won't find yourself slowly mutating and descending into a savage state. When I wake you up, I'll help you in any way I can so that you can catch up with important things you miss. You won't have to worry about anything; not your virus or adult life. I promise, you won't suffer anymore."

Steve held onto her with both hands, his face buried in her shoulder. He was scared. Fifteen years was a long time; that was most of his own lifetime so far. He enjoyed being a teenager and having fun. He enjoyed being a young guy who had an excuse for being immature.

Not too long ago he would sit in a classroom with Mason and a few other guys. Together they would make jokes about other classmates and their teachers. They would draw inappropriate symbols into their textbooks and would show the images to one another. They were so immature but Steve loved remembering those times. Times when life was so normal and so innocent.

But now all of that was gone. He would never go back into education. He wouldn't return to his class and announce to everyone that he was still alive. Even if he did do that, nothing would be the same. His mind was still scarred from everything he had suffered, and he knew that he would no longer catch a bus and say "Bye, Mason" as one of his closest friends exited the vehicle at his stop. He wouldn't listen to his MP3 player, gazing out the window, until his stop arrived. He wouldn't walk along the road before reaching his house where his mother and father would be waiting. His house had probably been destroyed after the raid. Looted. His entire past life was gone.

The thought of waking up as a grown man made things worse. He was already coping with the fact that his best friend was dead. He was still grieving for his mother and father. He still had to live with the fact that he was infected with a deadly virus; the V-ii virus had since been dealt with but the t-Veronica virus would be there forever. And he also had to live with all of his painful memories. Memories of the night he was taken. Memories of Rockfort. Memories of Antarctica. Memories of Umbrella's rival company. All of this was hurting him so much, and now he had to deal with the fact that he would wake up as an adult in a new world. Claire would be different; she may even find a man to be with. She may go with Leon. And he could do nothing to stop her because he was going to be asleep for over a decade.

Claire stroked his back softly. "You're going to be alright," she assured him. "The more you think about it, the more it's going to scare you... It won't be like anything you've already been through, I promise. You won't feel any pain and you'll be safe until you wake up, and I will be the first person you see when you next open your eyes."

Steve was still clinging onto her as though his life depended on it. "You keep making promises," he pointed out, "but will you really be there for me in fifteen years? Don't make promises you can't keep, Claire; I hate it when people break their promises."

"I would never lie to you, Steve," Claire reassured. "Ever. You mean so much to me; you mean everything to me. I don't ever want to see you hurt again."

Steve whimpered slightly. "Claire..." he muttered, then being pushed away gently by the girl.

"We should really get you down there," the brunette said to him. "It might take a while to put you under."

It hurt Steve to think about having to hurry and get it all over with, but he nodded his head slowly and held Claire's hand as she walked him through the facility, heading down underground to a secure room where Steve's cryogenic chamber waited.

The walk felt longer than it was, and at some point Steve's vision blurred as he felt his hunger for flesh trying to overwhelm his mind. But, upon entering the secure laboratory, he snapped out of his thoughts of devouring flesh and blood.

"Mr Burnside," addressed a scientist holding a clipboard. "You'll need to remove all of your clothing before we can proceed."

All of it? He was barely wearing anything at this point. The teen looked at Claire awkwardly, but she just let out a quiet sigh.

"Just do as they say, Steve," she said to him. Steve's expression saddened slightly but he did as he was told, using his hands to cover himself up. This was really embarrassing, but it wasn't as bad as when he was being held by Wesker; he spent months in a cold room with nothing, having to sleep on cold surfaces.

"Stand over here, please," the same scientist commanded, gesturing near to the cryogenic chamber. "We need to insert some wires into you."

Steve glared, tempted to clench his fists, but Claire put a hand on his shoulder. The pair met eyes with one another for a moment before Steve hesitantly chose to step forward. A few other scientists rubbed his arms and legs down with numbing cream, but he still felt it when the first tube pierced into his inner elbow joint. The redhead winced and scowled at the scientist responsible; while it did not cause him major pain, he had become so used to being tormented that he expected a great agony to follow the sensation.

"Steve," Claire spoke softly, seeing how tense he was becoming. "If you tense yourself like that, it'll only hurt you even more..."

The teen chose to relax his muscles, but he still hated it whenever he felt one of the tubes piercing into him. He stared at the ground with a frown on his face, but Claire gently lifted his head by his chin so that the boy was looking at her. His expression was one of discomfort, and his golden eyes had tears in them which were being restrained.

"I know you're afraid," the woman said to him. "I know you don't want it to be this way, and trust me, I wish it could be easier. But there's no better solution. This is the best we can do for you if you wanna live, Steve."

"Maybe I don't want to live," Steve shot back, his lips twitching as he kept his tears in his eyes. "Maybe I find living too hard, Claire."

"Stop it," Claire demanded, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I know it's hard, Steve. I've watched you suffer, and it hurts me to see you in so much pain. That's why I'm going to do everything I can to make life worth living for you. You can trust me, Steve; I'll do anything if it makes you happy. There must be something that can make you smile."

Steve glanced to the side sadly but thoughtfully. "...Be here for me," he murmured in response. "I wanna wake up... and see you in front of me."

Claire smiled a little, putting one of her hands on his cheek. "I'll be here," she assured him. "I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?" Steve nodded tearfully before suddenly pulling her close.

"Claire..." he whimpered into her shoulder. The sudden embrace caused tears to well up in Claire's own eyes as she wrapped her arms around him shakily, but she knew that she could not break down in front of him; that would only make him feel worse.

"It's okay," she hushed. "Everything's going to be okay, Steve."

"I'm scared," Steve admitted. "What if I never wake up? What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing will go wrong," Claire informed him gently, rubbing his cold back. "I'll make sure of that. Everyone here will."

Steve pulled away, wiping his eyes on his hand while being careful not to pull out any of the wires. He wanted to smile at Claire but he just couldn't. He was too worried. He was nervous. His knees were close to giving way, but he knew he had to be strong. He had to be strong for Claire. He had to be the strong young man raised by his parents, who did everything to turn him into a strong person.

"Then I'm ready," he decided, though he almost sounded uncertain in his words. "I'm ready, Claire."

Claire shakily nodded her head, helping him to stand in the chamber while holding back the liquid trying to escape from her eyes. She gripped his hand tightly and was hesitant when letting go.

"Is there anything else you want me to do for you when you wake up?" the brunette asked in a wavering tone. Steve seemed to think before finally he managed to smile somewhat sadly.

"Would it be too much to as for a dog?" he requested. "I've... always loved dogs. My dad was gonna get a family dog when we moved to Raccoon City but... the move never happened."

Claire chuckled softly, wiping away her tears with her other hand. "Anything for you," she responded. Steve gave her hand a final squeeze.

"I love you, Claire," he told her. Claire's lips trembled as she struggled to hold back her emotions, but she was still able to refrain from breaking down.

"I love you, too..." she whimpered. Steve's hand slipped out of hers as the glass closed, separating the two. A cold liquid began to fill the chamber quickly once Steve placed an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. The liquid would cause any normal human being to yelp at the feeling of a cold stabbing sensation, but Steve only shuddered. It was merely seconds before the chamber was full of the aqua-coloured liquid, and his vision was now blurred. He was still able to identify the figure which was Claire, staring at her until he was forced to see nothing but black, his eyelids dropping.

His eyes remained closed for fifteen whole years.

~End of Chapter~