Story: Zirconia

Chapter Eighteen: Render

"Trust your instinct to the end, though you can render no reason."

― Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882

Wesker -

Quite the affair for a charity ball.

Not really my sort of entertainment. Not that much entertains me that would be accepted by the general populace. What is it about the Redfield family that drives me to actions I wouldn't otherwise take? With Chris I often saw red to the point of detriment, something I could still deal with. Claire though, she inspired a plethora of emotions where no one else could. I'd missed her the past three years, in my own way at least. As much as I could miss anyone when there was work to be done.

I'd had her looked after in our absence of course. Always under the pretense of her being an extension of possible vengeance against Chris. It made my interest logical, cold, not something that could be abused the way Spencer had attempted to use her against me. So far, just information has been functional. Functional isn't always fulfilling though, it was pleasant to see her across the room. The rest of the party was unimpressive, a dull greyscale compared to the kaleidoscopic color of her.

Despite this being a festive gathering, Claire looked far from celebratory. Even with her eyes covered by a small mask I could tell by her body language she didn't want to be here. I had to admit the costume was a little strange. I didn't mind it, a shadow wrapping around her and leaving little to the imagination. I leaned on the wall of the room as I observed her. She didn't seem like someone ready to run off with a clandestine lover. Was she convinced I'd died in the event with Valentine? I hadn't had the chance to contact her since that incident, there had been too much happening to get away.

What had her idiot brother told her?

She perked a little when she chatted with Moira, Barry's daughter. The woman's costume was similar to Claire's. I guess they wanted to be notable as the hosts. She'd grown up a lot since Raccoon City. Wonder if anyone ever informed her the way she'd been used as an empty threat back then? I shrugged, it didn't matter. I was more concerned with Claire than the Burton family. I was ready to approach when Moira left, but another young presumptuous fool stepped up instead. I didn't know them, but even without the masks I doubt I'd recognize most of the people here. Nor was I inclined to.

He brought her a drink and they chatted, I was less than pleased by his presence. By her offering him that slight smile she gave when she was being sarcastic. I missed that look, those eyes on me. A bit jealous they were leveled on someone else. I needed to remedy any disillusion she might have soon as to my death. Thankfully he didn't linger with her long and she rose, walking to the ladies room. I was less pleased to see him tailing her as I was, albeit not nearly as well as I could. What was he up to?

I waited for now. I couldn't imagine Claire would appreciate me murdering her charity's donors, no matter how questionable the behavior. She left the restroom after a few moments and then went to another door, the fellow followed and I after him. Roof access? In this cold and that outfit? She really hadn't learned to take care of herself at all. The man continued after her and I shadowed easily enough. Scowling when I got to the roof access to see Claire passed out near the ledge and him walking toward her.

"What are you up to exactly?" My tone left little room for confusion as I lifted the masked man into the hair with one hand before he could touch her. Snow around us in the air both from where it fell and where it'd been tossed into the sky with my swift movement across the surface of the powder. "Did you drug her?"

"Wha...no, who the hell are you?" He was scared, his voice raised more than it should for someone telling the truth. Though he could just be terrified.

"What was it? Tell me now and I might let you live through the torment after I break a few bones." I hissed, my patience gone with the insulting actions of this pervert.

"I just slipped her a little something to knock her out. She'll be fine. I don't know what it's callahhhh…." His voice faded as he fell where I tossed him over the side of the building. Worthless trash deserved little better. I leaned down to Claire in the snow, she was already frigid. What was her obsession with weather she should leave alone? I took off my suit jacket, wrapping it around her before lifting her and carrying her with me. I'd take her to my room for now.

"Wesker?" Her voice was weak, tired. Confusion clear on her face. Her eyes were dilated, she was high.

"Had a bit much to drink, dear heart." I murmured, enjoying the way her hand gripped into my shirt when I spoke. "I'm taking you somewhere warmer."

She'd already passed out again. A party of this caliber he likely paid for only the best drugs. Things that wouldn't accidentally kill his targets. At least, I could hope. Without any tests of my own I couldn't be sure. I wasn't as convinced as to how her memory would be, but she'd held onto her mind rather well, remembered things she shouldn't from my own administration of medicines in the past.

There was almost nothing to her weight, less than I remembered. I wasn't sure if that was the development of my powers or her not eating. It was admittedly difficult to tell exact weights when you could throw a tank without breaking a sweat. I managed to get us back to my room, setting her on the bed to take off the mask and check her for injuries. She had a calm expression in her sleep. She looked more comfortable in unconsciousness than she had in the social gathering downstairs. I pushed her hair from her face when I was content she wouldn't have anything more lasting than a scrape or bruise from when she fell in the gravel on the roof. That pervert had gotten off easy. I paused to send a text to one of my people to gather the body for later testing, just death was too easy.

"Wesker?" She said again, drawing my attention as people accepted my orders. I slipped the phone away to replace it with her hand. "Is this a dream?"

"I'm here. You're quite drunk this evening, Miss Redfield." I remarked in light amusement. Wanting to keep her unaware of the danger she'd been in for the moment, panic could induce a number of undesirable outcomes with the wrong drugs. "I know I am desirable, I would like to hear sometime about the details of any dreams you might have about me."

"You have a big enough head as it is." She muttered with her eyes still closed. Missing that she'd earned a smile at the implication her subconscious pictured me even when I wasn't here. "You are alive then?"

"I'm surprised you haven't learned how difficult it is to kill me yet." I pointed out. "Do you think you may have gone a bit heavy on the alcohol?"

"Maybe…" She accented, then relented. "I'm more tipsy and not used to such expensive bubbly."

"Well, you made yourself fairly familiar this evening." I returned.

"That guy!" She sat up suddenly, then held her head. She would have fallen if I hadn't steadied her. "That son of a bitch. I outta…"

"You're fine." I held her firm despite her attempt to move. "He's been dealt with."

She quieted at that comment, and the unspoken confirmation that he was dead at my hand. She'd never cared much for me killing non B.O.W.'s. She nodded though, holding her head with one of her hands.

"Serves him right." She finally managed.

Good girl.

"Wesker…" She spoke my name quietly then, her eyes finally landing on me. Her hand gripping my arm tighter as she seemed to really be realizing it was me there and not someone else despite previously using my name. "You really are here."

"That does seem to be the case." I raised one of her hands to kiss the back of it. It was still too cold for my liking. "You have to get out of this habit of believing me dead."

"Stop getting into situations where it's a safe assumption." She retorted. I wasn't sure she'd even remember this. Would we get to relive this discussion again soon? How long would she even retain consciousness? Was that the virus in her system or just her built up tolerance to bad situations?

"You, Chris said that you...and Jill. She pushed you out a window hundreds of feet in the air." She murmured, her gaze unfocusing as she spoke.

"I survived a hole in my chest that took up most of the area of my lungs, you think a fall would take me out?" I raised a brow at her, shaking my head. "We agreed on this, that I'd meet you once you had TerraSave up and running."

"Yeah, you said you wouldn't attack Chris." She returned.

Damn Chris, did he really have to ruin everything like this?

"I said I wouldn't if you went with me, you didn't. Nor did I attack him, he came after me first" I frowned at her. "I only reciprocated what I was targeted with. That isn't why I'm here though. Did you finally make a decision?"

I didn't want this to unfold this way. I hadn't really meant to press her into an answer this immediately. The fool upstairs, and her trying to defend her worthless sibling had pushed my buttons. She incited me to speak without pausing to consider consequences, some part of her always had.

"I...made a choice yeah…" She glanced away as she said it, not a positive sign.

I didn't push this time. I was slightly uncomfortable with what the answer could be, that she might tell me I'm the monster everyone believed and that she wanted nothing to do with me. Perhaps that would be easier, but after so many years of my mind replaying her words about us being together I didn't want that. Was I doomed to remorsefully replay that moment when she begged me to stay with her?

"I…" She face grimaced, skin blanching as color ran out of it. I shifted to the side as she leaned over the side of the bed to vomit. The contents of her stomach pouring from her mouth onto the carpet as her body actively attempted to eject whatever poisons it had taken in. I pulled her hair back so she wouldn't get the fluids in the lovely red strands. Then her body leaned more forward and I had to catch her before she felt into the puddle of her own making. I felt the slight twitch of my brow.

…

Now what?

She wasn't going to be answering any questions in this state. I eyed her unconscious form in frustration, her none the wiser to the irritation her drunk and drugged state had inspired. She wasn't a college student anymore, not that her state would have indicated otherwise. She hadn't the faintest clue what an inconvenience she was making of herself with this behavior.

I lacked time to leave her much choice in this matter. I needed Claire with me if I was to properly inoculate her body for what was to come. I would have to take her and deal with the consequences if she was annoyed later. I sighed as I lifted her from the bed. This was not at all how I'd pictured coming to bring her away with me...

Claire (early 2009)

The ebb of black started to draw away as my mind made the muffled return from unconsciousness. It was comfortable, the familiar musk of a lover surrounding me as I curled into the pillow and took a deep breath. A deep ache resounded in my head and I groaned at the unwelcome awareness of the pain. I didn't want to even open my eyes, had I really had that much to drink? The reminder of alcohol let fragments of memory puzzle themselves into flickered pictures. Some random jerk had drugged me, then there was...

Wesker!

I sat up suddenly, regretting the quick movement. I held my head with a groan, and I was sure if my stomach had contents they wouldn't have remained inside. As it was the acidic stale of old vomit was still on my tongue from before I'd lost consciousness. Yuck. I frowned at the unfamiliar room. It was nice, but it wasn't the hotel where the party had been. Was it some sort of suite? I saw a couple doors, and scowled at the clear tube of an IV settled in one of my veins. Wesker had taken me away sometime after our brief talk. I remembered only vague impressions, but I knew this had to be his bed by the scent if nothing else.

Clue two being the black bed linens. He really did like black. The high thread count was smooth against my skin. He'd undressed me at some point from the costume and put me in a simple, if revealing, nightgown. I blushed slightly, trying to convince myself he'd seen a lot more of me over the years so I had no reason to be embarrassed. Then, it wasn't just the nakedness that was flustering. I was never drinking champagne again.

The room was fairly simple. The large bed I was taking up half of, two nightstands, a desk, and a bookshelf covered in volumes of what seemed to be medical texts. There were three other doors. Two were open: one looked like it went to a closet, the other to a bathroom judging by the tile. I could guess the last went back into the main areas of the living space. More interesting was the side table nearest me. There was a toothbrush, paste, a cup of water, and a small pink container I recognized as a medical catch all from when I was doing rounds in the hospital going for my degree. I snatched up a note near it to read.

"Dear heart,"

Just the opening made my chest throb. Those two words had come to mean a lot more than I would have imagined. Still, what had I done to earn such relief when Chris would have none...I did what I could not to feel guilty as I kept reading.

"I've left you things to brush your teeth. You shouldn't move too much yet. I will be back to check on you soon. If you haven't already, please don't just rip your IV out. You've been pretty dehydrated and the fluids will help. I left you a few magazines in the drawer of the side table. - W."

I used the supplies to brush my teeth, my body a bit shaky when I sat up. What had that idiot at the party drugged me with? I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I opened the drawer to see some motorcycle magazines. I smiled lightly as I pulled one out. He remembered I was interested in them though it'd been a long time since we'd talked about it…

Where had he brought us? Last time it had been in Russia...was this another safehouse? Had he taken me out of Chicago or did he have one there? Either were possible I supposed. Despite the warning of walking too much, I made a stumbling trip to the ladies room with the IV pole. I relieved myself, washed my hands, and was back to the bed with only a little dizziness for my trouble. Whew...they'd done a number on me…

I'd only gotten a few pages into the magazine when the door opened.

"Good morning." Wesker was carrying a small bowl and a glass of clear liquid. It was him. Blonde hair, sunglasses, dark outfit, easy confidence...there was a wave of relief, a stronger echo of last night or even this morning. Actually seeing him in person now that my mind was clear. He was alive. "I thought you'd want to eat something."

"Uh, thanks…" I mumbled, not sure what to say. "You, you're okay."

"Very." He nodded to me. "You've been asleep a long time. Whatever you were given managed to do a little damage, but the fluids are helping. I brought some chicken broth and basic ginger soda. I gave you some nausea medicine earlier, but best to start gently."

"Can you give me something for the headache?" I asked, carefully taking the bowl as he set the glass down on the table.

"I can, yes. One moment." He walked to his desk to reach into the drawer and pick up a syringe. Just had those at the ready? I didn't ask, sipping at the broth. I was much more hungry than I realized and for something so simple it tasted great.

"I'm not sure what you remember. A scoundrel tried to drug you. Lucky for you and not him that I was present. I brought you here because I couldn't stay at your party and this was the safest place." He explained as he returned, adding the small syringe of medicine to my IV. I felt the slight burn but ignored it. I was lucky he'd intervened. If he hadn't...I didn't want to think about what would have happened.

"Claire?" I realized this was the second time he'd said my name. He sat next to me, reaching up to check my forehead with a hand. I had never seen him fret over me this way.

I kind of liked it.

"Sorry, I'll be okay." I reassured him. "You just brought me somewhere? What if I wasn't planning to go with you and keep my normal life?"

"Judging by your phrasing, it isn't an issue." He returned, hand dropping to cup my cheek as his thumb grazed over my skin lightly. I had to admit I liked seeing that smile, him having an honest one was rare. He was right, I'd wanted to come. Perhaps not under these circumstances, but I was ready to move past my charity organization days. I swallowed as he stared, even behind the glasses I could tell he was gazing back at me. I returned my eyes to my soup, not ready for our usual sort of interlude.

He leaned forward, but only pressed his lips into my forehead. The gesture was unexpected but warm. "Anyone else ever earned this sort of care from you?"

"No. Not this level." He replied, though his answer still had a mysterious edge that made me curious. He always left me with more questions. Then, I guessed now there would be time for discussions now. "How's your head?"

"A little fuzzy but it doesn't hurt." I answered truthfully, sipping at my soup again. "Thank you, for everything."

"How's the soup?" He nodded toward the cup.

"Good, simple but nice." I answered. "You have some?"

"I had something with a little more substance, but we'll get you back to more than broth." He stated calmly. "I expect you'll recover quickly now that you're awake."

"I hope so. Where are we?" I asked, glad he was lingering with me on the bed. I didn't want to let the conversation fall off so he had an excuse to leave. "How long was I out?"

"We're in a suburb of St. Louis." He replied, making me pause to stare at him before he confirmed. "You've been asleep for two days, whatever the man used he had no real concept of dosage."

"Do you just set up a safehouse in every major city?" I quipped. "Nothing in Chicago?"

"I have one in Chicago but thought it best to move.." He replied, voice light. "It had to be somewhere Chris couldn't immediately dig."

My brother was probably beside himself with worry right now.

"Right…" I only nodded, a bit unsure how to react about the idea that I couldn't really speak to my brother with this. Not that we ever really spoke much at all these days, but I couldn't expect even the occasional email or letter. I might never see him again at all.

"I will be here about a week, then I'll need to leave a short while for work." He commented. "You should be on your feet and capable by then."

"Can't I just go with you?" I asked between swallows of the broth. "Wasn't that the point of me coming with you?"

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I would rather wait a bit before just bringing you along to everything I do." He reached up to settle a hand on my leg, rubbing the calf lightly with his hands while we spoke. "Besides, much of what I'm working on deals with local Pharmaceutical distribution, it's not exciting."

"Gee, giving up my entire life not worthy of a little trust?" I snarked in slight annoyance. Here I was, half-kidnapped and he was going to just ditch me again? "If you just wander off for weeks or months how is that any different than what we had before?"

How was that any different than when he just met me once in a while?

"My coming to the rescue doesn't exactly count as a leap of faith?" He replied. "I realize this is hardly a conventional situation, but you should be able to understand my hesitation to just let you in on every trade secret. After a few months, I'll let you into the project if that's what you want."

I doubted I wanted to really fully know everything he did…

"In the meanwhile I do what? Stay here? And what?" I didn't like the idea of just waiting weeks for him while he was off doing whatever shady shit he did. I was feeling a bit ditched and he hadn't even left yet. "I thought the point was we would be together. I can't really get out if Chris is going to release missing person's reports everywhere."

"We will only be here a week, then we'll be moving to another safehouse. What I'm working on does have an end goal Claire, when we get there hiding won't be needed.." He reached up to take my cup when I finished with it, setting it to the side. "As for activities, I wasn't certain what you would like. I have a garage being added with a bike and various upgrades in our next stop. I have a television and gaming system though I rarely use them. I'd prefer you stay out of the basement."

"What's in the basement?" I didn't like the idea of being kicked out of an area of a house I was supposed to live in, even if it was temporary.

"Personal research and a few possibly dangerous experiments." He retorted, which made me instantly more nervous.

"Are there living, well...active creatures below us?" I glanced toward the floorboards in discomfort at the idea of zombies just waiting for me to fall through.

"Are you frightened of a few undead, Miss Redfield?" He was enjoying this.

"If they're living below me yeah. I'll have nightmares. I don't need skeletal hands shooting out of the floor and groping me in bed at night." I replied in annoyance.

"You have quite the imagination." He observed, canting his head slightly at my comments. "There are no experiments that currently involve subjects. Simply some substances that would be quite dangerous if mishandled."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? What if there's an earthquake and something breaks even without me there?" I pointed out. "Couldn't I stay at a hotel or something?"

"The hotels here are not safer than this place." He shook his head at me. "Besides, St. Louis is not near any centers of seismic activity. Short of something cataclysmic there is nothing that could allow anything dangerous to escape my testing area, it's well secured and there are proper ventilation systems to lock down anything dangerous."

"Yeah...isn't that what all the facilities for Umbrella are set up for?" I frowned.

"I wouldn't safeguard you to then put you at risk." He pointed out.

"Fine. I'll avoid your science projects unless you're around to show me." I agreed, I was still curious and wanted to see downstairs. Maybe if I spun it as him giving me the tour it would be accepted. He only eyed me quietly at the comment, not stating if he would let me see it even with him present. My eyes shifted to my hand when he took it. My body was very aware of how close he was; the slight pressure of his breath, the moisture of his lips on my skin, the smell of his cologne…

God. I had missed this man…if I wasn't exhausted with my head still pounding I wasn't sure I would have just talked to him this long. I pushed those thoughts aside to instead focus as best I could on more important things. I remembered we argued a little about his attacking Chris, but there was something else I wanted to know. "What about Jill, what happened to her after she tackled you out the window?"

"Valentine? I doubt she could have survived that sort of damage." Wesker said with a furrowed brow. Was it that confusing to him that I'd ask about her? Then, I knew he wasn't a boy scout when I signed up for this. I only nodded at that answer, Chris was right then that Jill hadn't made it. He'd be livid if he knew what I was doing right now. That I'd went with Wesker despite everything…then, it was hard to really focus. I still wasn't quite fully coherent, a lot of the pain had dulled out after the food and whatever drug he'd given me, but now I just wanted to sleep.

"You should get some rest." He leaned over to kiss my head again. I wanted to talk more but I was too tired to resist as he helped me adjust to laying down comfortably. Whatever the pervert at the party had done I definitely wasn't out of the deep end just yet. My concerns would have to wait until I was back up and fit for a conversation where I wasn't going to doze off.

End Chapter

This chapter was one of the hardest ones I've done for this fic, I'm not super happy with it. Ugh. I wrote and rewrote parts (or completely rewrote it) about a dozen or two-dozen times? Why muse, why? I am amused that things almost never go to plan for Wesker when it comes to Claire though. Things are coming together easier now that I have roughs through the end.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Crystal - Just a perv.

Nspired1 - I think they had a good world beneath the survival part, that's part of what I think a lot of people really attach to with Resident Evil. Not sure what I would have a character get for Wesker for a celebration...but it would have to involve chocolate cake (though that's a reference to my comical Wesker fic).