The characters from the game belong to Capcom.
A/N:I'm not english native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
Leon just looked at the area before him and couldn't help but feel somewhat clueless. Something in guts told that this had been a very, very bad idea. He has been on so many demanding missions but none of them seemed to be as challenging as the one he was on currently. He could actually say that he had literally no experience about this whole situation. In the back of his mind, he was already regretting the moment when he split up with Jill and told her that he could handle things on his own, but clearly this wasn't his area of expertise and he definitely needed a little, if not much, help handling this situation.
He heaved out a sigh of determination and told himself that he could manage on his own. He had blown off zombie heads from several yards away, so shopping for baby stuff couldn't really be that hard for him. He retrieved the list he had of the things he was supposed to get, and confidently pushed his trolley in the aisle where all the baby products were set.
It had been a week since Evana had moved out of their home and into her new house, which Chris had bought for her. Things had been going smooth and she was expecting her baby soon. Lately, she had been quite busy with decorating the baby's room and also planning for her upcoming baby shower, which led him and Jill to be tasked with getting the shopping done on her behalf.
The first thing in Leon's list, which was handwritten by Evana, was diapers. He picked up a pack of diapers from the nearest shelf and looked at it, wondering if it was a good enough. He looked around to get an idea what other mothers were buying but it confused him even more because they were all buying different brands. If he had been clueless before then he just felt even more of it.
Leon just set the pack of diapers back and left it for the later, deciding to get the other items on the list. One after another, he read through his list and more often had to put items on 'will decide later' list. The more he looked for things on his list, the more he felt puzzled by the different options available. Currently, he was trying to choose a baby oil for Evana's baby.
"Leon!", he heard his name being called and turned around to see his girlfriend pushing her trolley which was laden with baby clothes, blankets and other stuff his way, "What are you doing?", she asked him with a slight confusion on her tone, "Your cart is practically empty", she said picking up the pack of baby wipes, the only thing he had in his cart.
"Well I am having a hard time deciding", he told her the truth, "I mean what else do you expect; there are like 10 types of baby oil, 15 kinds of baby lotion plus creams, 20 brands of diapers and I don't even know how many brands of baby soaps are there, I practically lost the count", he added not bothering about the fact that he might have been exaggerating.
Jill laughed out loud and Leon took a moment to admire her beauty, "I'll help you!", she just said with a heartwarming smile.
"Yes, please", he said handing her over his list, "So which baby oil is better?", he showed her the two he was holding.
The brunette took both the oils from his hand and set it back on the shelf and picked a different one, "This one", she showed him the bottle, "Chamomile oil is the choice for newborns", she told him setting it in shopping cart.
The couple moved around the aisle and within some 20-30 minutes, they had everything that they had on their shopping list.
"How do you know all this stuff", Leon asked getting few bars of baby soap on Jill's instruction.
"Well sort of experience of shopping with my mother or expectant mothers", Jill answered with a shrug.
"I am glad you know, I was so much clueless about these stuffs", he told her with a sigh, "What else is remaining?"
"Just diapers", Jill answered consulting the list, "Well you learned a new thing today then", she added in response to his previous statement, as they walked to rack which had diapers.
"Well I am still pretty much clueless about all this stuff", he told her as she read the labels of the diapers set in the rack, "I mean I just picked up, what you told me and if I were to make a second trip here alone. I would still be confused as before."
Jill let out another laugh at his exaggeration, "Then you will learn these stuff if we have a baby", she said grabbing hold of a pack of diapers, but soon realized what she had said in the flow of the moment.
Leon looked at her in slight surprise and didn't fail to notice that she the smile on her face faded a bit. Her head slightly drooped in response to the cruel fate that she had been written out for her
"Hey", Leon spoke moving to put an arm around her shoulders, "We have our goddaughter."
"Yeah", she nodded, "And I am glad we have her", she lifted her head and looked sideways at him and smiled through the tears that had welled up in her eyes.
Leon kissed Jill's forehead, as she rested it against his shoulder, and they stood there for a couple of minutes with him comforting the woman he loved. Jill was the one to pull away and she thanked him for always being there for her, and accepting her with those flaws. Leon just gave her a genuine smile and shook his head telling her it was nothing.
They both pushed their shopping carts away from the baby section towards the kids section, where they bought a present for their goddaughter, something that they both thought she would like. After quickly getting the things for the baby shower party, they headed straight up to the counter. It wasn't too crowded so they didn't have to wait too long to get their billing done.
They talked casually about different things, as they made their way to their car in the parking lot, when Jill almost bumped into someone. Jill's apology got stuck in her throat when she saw the person she had bumped into, and she couldn't stop herself from frowning a little. The brunette woman wasn't really pleased to see them as well.
"C'mon Jill, we should get going", Leon said grabbing hold of his girlfriend's hand.
But before they could make a move the woman spoke up, "So what's up with the perfect couple nowadays?", she asked in her usual tone of contempt looking the shopping bags they were carrying, "Baby stuff?!", Laureen frowned at them a little, "What do you need that for? I thought you were adopting a grown up girl."
"I am pregnant", Jill said the first thing that came to her mind.
Laureen laughed out loud looking at her from head to toe, "Doesn't look like it", she said mockingly casting a glance at Jill's flat stomach, "Do you think I am stupid?", she closed the distance between her and Jill in a fraction of a second, her expressions turning quite ugly, "You won't buy those stuff this early."
Leon didn't waste a second to push her back, "You know that's none of your business", he warned her pulling Jill away from her, "Stay away from us or you know what I can do."
"Oh my god, I'm so scared! Look how I'm trembling!" the brunette gestured mockingly
With those last few words, they both walked away from Chris's troublemaker. They hurried to their car, drove out of the parking lot, and headed straight for Evana's place, after making sure that Laureen was not at their tail.
Evana was in the baby room, decorating the nursery walls with cute stickers. Like any other mother, she wanted everything to be best for her baby and for her to have everything she didn't. She had been unsure of her decision to come to US along with Chris but now when she thought about, it had been for the best. Her baby would have all the things that it might not have had if she had tried to raise her all by herself. Of course, the things weren't that simple here but she didn't want to think and stress about them at the moment; she just wanted to enjoy this stage of her motherhood because there won't be a second time that she'll be going through her first pregnancy.
Once she was done putting up the stickers, she stepped back and reviewed her work. The wall really looked pretty with the little animal caricatures on it and she hoped that her baby would enjoy looking at it as much as she was enjoying it now. It was then that she felt her baby kick the inner walls of her womb, and she knew that baby was probably approving his mother's efforts. She smiled and caressed her belly lovingly, when she heard her phone ring.
Evana hurriedly yet cautiously moved to answer her phone. As she picked up the phone off the table, she was delighted to see that it was Yana video calling her. She didn't waste even a single second touching that green button on the screen of her smartphone, and familiar face of her redhead friend appeared on the screen.
"Hey sis!", Yana waved at her from the other with a cheerful smile on her face, "How have you guys been?", she asked referring to her and baby.
"We are doing well", Evana answered her moving towards her bedroom, "It's great that you called, I have been missing you. How are you and your baby?", she asked her back.
"We are good too!", she answered and looked to the side, "Nico's been taking good care of us", and next moment Evana saw Nico passing Yana a glass of juice to his wife and kissing her cheek, "Say hi to Eva", Yana told him.
"Hey Eva, how are you doing?", Nico leaned in to show his face to her, "How is the baby and Chris?"
"We all are fine, Nico", Evana answered with a smile, sitting down on her bed, "You doing good?"
"Yeah I am as happy as I can be", he smiled from ear to ear, "Because of this beautiful lady", he kissed Yana once again. Evana just let out a joyful laugh seeing her friends happy, "Now I'll leave you ladies alone, I know you have a lot to catch up."
"Yeah, you go!", Yana playfully pushed him away and he went on his away.
"It's good to see you this way", Evana told her with a smile.
"Yeah it is what it is", Yana said with slight shrug, "He's really handling it well even after all the messed up situation that we have."
The blonde let out a sigh, "I can so relate to having a messed up situation", she spoke in an understanding tone.
"Well my situation is still better than yours", Yana said in an obvious, "I have no crazy chick for a free gift to screw up my life."
"Yeah", Evana let out a sigh once again, "Sometimes I miss our simple life back at home."
"I hate to agree with you but I do kind of miss that hell hole Bohma", Yana spoke her in usual fiery temperament, "I mean we could still have been together if we were there."
"Aww…", Evana couldn't help but be touched but her words, "But you know what?"
"What?", her redhead friend pulled up a puzzled expressions.
"We are still going through a lot of things together", she told her with an evident tone, "I mean it's not like together like being together physically but together like going through the same experiences. I mean we are both going through pregnancies at the same time."
"Yeah", Yana said with a smile, "And we both have babies, whose fathers are Americans!"
"And soldiers", Evana added another detail, "And we both go fat!"
"Hey I am just chubby", Yana said faking to be offended and both the woman shared a laugh together, "But on a serious note, whenever you get married make sure it's way after I have delivered my boy", she spoke and Evana gave her a look confusion not sure what she was getting at, "Because it's obvious that I'll be the maid of honor and I want to look sexy in those tight fit glam dresses."
Evana let out another laugh at her friends comment, "Well my wedding is a distant thing as of now but it's my baby shower next week, and I was hoping that you would come."
"Next week?!", Yana exclaimed in surprise, "Is it on your birthday?"
Evana thought about it and realized that indeed the day they had set randomly was coincidentally the same day as her birthday, "Well actually yeah", she answered her friend, "It wasn't like I deliberately fixed it on my birthday but it turned out to this way. So you will be attending my baby shower, right? You still are in the limit to get a flight.", she asked her yet again.
"Of course I will be attending it", Yana affirmed with a couple of nods, "I wouldn't miss for the world."
"Oh that's great! I am excited for your visit", Evana could hold in her excitement, "I was really hoping that you would say yes. I mean I knew you would but I couldn't really be sure of it given our condition now but I so, so eager to see you again in person."
"I can see that", Yana commented with a smile, "And I am excited too, yay!", she threw both her hands in the air.
"I am just so glad that you are coming", Evana began, "It's not just me but I guess Piers would get a sense of purpose if he knew he was going to be a father."
"Wait, what?!", Yana said in a tone of bewilderment, "Piers is dead right? How would he get a sense of purpose that you're talking about?"
Suddenly Evana realized that she had said something that she shouldn't have; she had completely forgotten that Yana didn't know Piers was still alive, "I meant if he was alive, he would get a sense of purpose, isn't it?", she tried to cover it up.
"No, no, no", Yana shook her head and looked at her best friend suspiciously, "You didn't mean it that way", Evana swallowed the imaginary lump in her throat in distress feeling a bit cornered, "Evana Larssen Novak, I know that face of yours! You're hiding something from me. What is it? Out with it!", the redhead demanded of the blonde.
Evana took a deep breath and held it in, biting her lip in contemplation. She had to consider her options quickly and make a decision whether to tell the whole truth or to make up another excuse, given the fact that she sucked at lying, especially to Yana. She was aware of both Chris's request to not tell Yana about Piers and the one from Yana's to not let anyone know about her son. Although Evana had been against both of their choices but she had valued their trust and had kept their respective secrets, but she just knew that she couldn't do that anymore.
Yana had already agreed to come to her baby shower, so was probably okay with letting others know about her pregnancy and once, she's here then she'll also know about Piers being alive. The blonde woman didn't see the need to keep the secret anymore and cause unnecessarily shocks or dramas at her baby shower. She let out a decisive sigh and decided to come clean with her friend.
"Piers is alive", Evana kept the revelation short and simple.
The moment she told the truth, she could see lines of shock forming on her friend's face, "You got to be kidding me!", the redhead couldn't keep the surprise off her tone.
"No, I am not", the blonde shook her head, "He's alive; he lost an arm but he's very much alive. He was found unconscious a few days later by some fishermen. He was infected during the incident, which led him to being quarantined for some time, but he's been released now and sent for rehabilitation. And he's no longer the man he used to be both physically and emotionally."
"But that's not all of it right?", her friend read between the lines, knowing full well that if Evana was hiding this fact then there has to be more to the story.
"He's dating Claire again", Evana told her the truth that might have hurt her best friend, because she knew that deep down her friend still had feelings for Piers.
Yana slumped back on the chair and didn't say anything for a while, not even sure how to react to the news. She was overwhelmed with a mix of feelings and she just hated to be feeling this way. The fact that she was pregnant wasn't helping her in controlling those emotions either. She disliked the way things turned out and this sudden overturn of events could potentially ruin her already established plans with Nico. Her son could still have his father, but for that, she would have to hurt Nico, after all he was doing for them. The news came in at a moment she started having doubts about her decisions in hiding the truth to her son, as she got closer to her due date. She was finally embracing her maternity as she got over those intense weeks that led her to her current condition and now everything was becoming a mess again. She didn't have doubts about her feelings for Nico, she loved him, but Piers made her feel things she never felt before and was the real father of her unborn child.
"Evana, I don't think I can come to your baby shower…", Yana broke the silence speaking in a very serious tone, "I shouldn't come to your baby shower."
"Yana, no!", Evana said feeling slightly sad about that decision, "I want you to come."
"But I can't", the redhead pressed on it, "Both Piers and Claire would be there, how do you think they'll react to this?", she pointed at her overgrown belly.
"Well they don't know it's Piers' baby", Evana tried to reason with her, "I haven't told them yet. It's your decision, if you want to tell him or not", she took a pause, "And honestly like I said he's going through a rough phase now with one of his arms gone. He could use one ray of positivity in his life and that's right there in your womb."
Yana grabbed hold of her head in frustration, "It's not that simple", she told her, "Piers had always been frank with me and never promised me anything or made plans for a future together. He doesn't have a word to stick with me."
"Ah, so you can be the exception for your lectures!" Evana almost scolded her with an evident sarcasm in her tone.
"I'm not exception!", the redhead spoke raising her brows at her, "But seriously I don't want to cause any troubles at your baby shower. I mean I don't think Claire will be too happy to know that I am carrying her boyfriend's baby."
"That's possibly true but she too has the right to know", Evana spoke with a shrug, "They both can't just keep living a lie and not know about his son. Why don't you just come over and see how he's doing, and then decide whether you want him to know the truth or not. I mean at least give them the right to decide for themselves", the blonde shrugged.
Yana thought for a bit and let out a decisive sigh, "Okay I'll be there", she told her best friend and Evana almost cheered up in joy, "But I have to talk to Nico and tell him about the whole situation, and if he's against then I am not coming", the blonde tried to say something in disagreement but the redhead raised her hand to stop her from saying anything, "I know I have mixed thoughts for Piers but I do love Nico too and he has done a lot for me and my son, and the least I could do is not hurt him."
Evana let out a sigh and nodded a couple of times, "Okay I understand!"
"Okay", Yana nodded at the other end too, "Well it's was tiring and I guess I need some sleep", she forced herself to smile, "So I'll get back to you later."
"Yeah sure", Evana answered with a slight smile, "Take care of yourself."
"Yeah you too", her friend replied before ending the voice call with her.
On the day of the baby shower Chris drove up to Evana's place and picked her up, so they could head over to the Leon and Jill's apartment, where they had organized the party. It was still early hours of the evening when the soon to-be-parents reached the couple's humble abode. Jill was the one who opened the door to let them inside.
Claire and Piers had already arrived for the party, and were having a trivial friendly chat with Leon as they sat on the couch in their living room. The three of them moved to greet the couple and formally congratulated Chris and Evana for the baby girl and the new phase of their life, and presented their gifts to the couple as well.
Once they were done with their meet and greet and everyone settled down, Evana looked around the apartment. She couldn't help but be in awe of the decorations that Jill and Claire had set up for her baby girl. She was in her last months of her pregnancy and couldn't really have done more than to tell the two women about the color themes for the decorations she wanted for the party, and they had brilliantly executed her plans.
The living area of the apartment was decorated with pink, lavender and white balloons hanging from the walls, and some were even littered on the floor. All the party food and drinks were elegantly arranged on the table, and Evana could make out that even the icing of the cupcakes they ordered matched the color codes that she chose for the party. And what really delighted her the most were the golden letters hanging on the wall behind that table spelling the name of her daughter, Charlotte Elise.
"So, did you like it?", Claire asked her with a bright smile and handed her a glass of juice, as she and Jill joined her.
"I loved it, thank you!", Evana expressed her sincerest gratitude towards both the women.
"And you look beautiful", Jill complimented her and Claire seconded that opinion.
Evana thanked them again turning the shade of her dress, being flustered with such nice comments which she wasn't accustomed to hearing. She was dressed in a short sleeved, baby pink colored dress that reached down till her knees. Her blonde hair was left lose but it was in a beautiful hairstyle and she had put on light make-up, which complimented the glow she had on her face due to her pregnancy.
They all talked among themselves and soon were joined in by more people; Barry and his family, Rebecca and some of Chris's close friends from work. They all congratulated the couple, gave them presents and took pictures with them under the banner that spelled out their daughter's name.
Charlotte's parents were thrilled with the evening going on so smoothly, with some music playing in the background and people enjoying each other company, as they laughed and chatted while helping themselves with hot dogs, candies, cupcakes, soda and all the other things that were served to the guests.
Chris noticed Evana checking her phone discreetly as one of his colleagues, who had just arrived at the party congratulated them. They had small talk with the guy before he went to greet Jill and other people from the BSAA and Chris again saw Evana looking at her phone as if expecting something.
"Waiting for someone's call?", he asked with a smile looking.
"Yeah Yana was supposed to be here by now", Evana told him the truth, walking to couch and taking a seat on it.
"Oh yeah." Chris replied remembering Evana had already commented with him about Yana
Her best friend had already confirmed her presence for the party along with Nico. Yana's presence meant heaven to her because she was the only person she could call her own. Chris's friend and family were nice people too but they were not Yana, who had been more than a sister to Evana for as long as she could remember.
The most awaited call came something around 7:00 PM and Chris took the initiative to fetch Evana's best friend and her husband from the airport. Evana anxiously waited for them to arrive, barely keeping her excitement in check, as she talked to the ladies in the group.
About some 30 minutes in the conversation, Claire excused herself to receive a call and when she returned she called over Jill and talked something to her in a secretive manner, and then Jill moved over to Leon telling him something as well. Evana was slightly intrigued by it but before she could ask them anything Claire switched the music on the stereo and as if on the cue Leon opened the door for Chris, who was carrying a personalized birthday cake and sang the birthday song for his lady love.
And following him closely behind were her sister like friend and her husband, who were also singing the birthday song for her. The guests at the party joined in with them and Evana was left smiling, as tears of joy streamed down her face, heartily touched by the fact that her birthday hadn't been forgotten.
Everybody clapped their hands for some time as they finished and Yana was the first one to leap up to Evana to wish her a happy birthday, as she hugged her tight. Both the women looked at each other and just giggled out of joy, their eyes welled up with tears because they were both glad to see them.
Piers recognized Evana's friend and felt a knot in his stomach, and a feeling of awkwardness washed over him as he remember his history with her. The redhead cast a glance over at him as she gave way to her husband, so he could greet Evana too. Both Piers and Yana made eye contact for a brief moment, and the woman smiled at him in acknowledgement grabbing hold of her husband's arm to mentally support herself. Yana's smile faltered for brief moment as her eyes travelled to place where Pier's arm used to be, disguised by the brown jacket he was wearing. No one who looked quickly would take notice of the missing member.
Piers suddenly became conscious of the fact and his other hand rose to touch the place where his arm had been amputated. Claire noticed that restlessness in him and asked if he was doing all right. He couldn't answer her straightaway, so he just nodded in response, but Claire saw through his lie. She raised herself on her toes to kiss his cheek, tightly wrapped her arm around his good arm and making him forget that he had been uncomfortable for those last few minutes. He kissed the top of her head, feeling glad to have her by his side.
After Yana's arrival, the party went to its next phase and Evana introduced Yana and Nico to everyone, including Claire. Evana spent the rest of the time with Yana mostly catching up with her and sharing motherhood experiences with her.
It was only around 9:00 PM when the lights in the room were dimmed and Evana looked up wondering if there was power outage or something, when she heard her favorite song through the stereo. And then she finally noticed Chris walking up to her, with a wide smile on her face. She gave him a puzzled look, and he just responded by bending down on one knee in front of her. She thought he was picking something off the floor until he retrieved a small box from his face and propping it open to reveal a beautiful ring, making her gasp in surprise.
Chris took hold of one of Evana's hand as he spoke, "Evana Larssen Novak will you marry me?", he proposed her with a charming smile.
"Yes!", Evana replied the moment she felt her voice returning and Chris put the ring on her finger and stood up to hug and kiss her.
Thank you Xaori, HerpDerp and silver scropion and DerrickValore for the reviews. :D
Super thanks to JennaWilliams for giving format to this chapter. My block is really terrible, thank god I have the script done. But what is a script without inspiration and magic to put on paper? :(
Gotta thank Xaori too for her opinion on some future changes in script xD
4 chapters until the very end and Vendetta is right at the corner xD
These final moments are really going to demand way more from me, I don't have intentions to have a very cliche ending xD That's all I can say.
Have a great week ya'll!
Thank you for the faves and follows.
