Heya guys, I wrote something else as an intro initially but I just finished writing the chapter. So if chapter 5 was a bit intense for you. You might want to skip this chapter altogether. it's not M+ or anything and chances are if you enjoy Resident Evil you'll be fine, but it definitely could stress readers out. I'll do my best to make it so Chapter 8 still flows well enough without having to read this one for those that would rather skip. Thanks as always for continuing to read and support my writing as I learn more about the creative process. It means a lot :)

Song suggestion: Run Away by OR3O Ft. SleepingForest and SamHaft

Disclaimer: I'm just a fanfiction writer, I don't own anything. usual stuff.

Three weeks passed since Halloween and it was now well into November. Emma sat on the edge of her couch while holding her smallest newborn niece and rocked gently to try and get her to fall asleep. She hummed while closing her eyes as the kitchen island behind her was a mess of sugar flour and icing and the two older nieces were slowly drifting off as they sat next to her. It had been a day.

"Auntie Emmy can we make cookies?" Summer asks with her usual doughy-eyed stare that she used when she wanted something.

"Why do you want to make cookies," Emmy asks shaking her head as she looked over to the table covered in papers and crayons.

"I overheard mommy saying that she wanted to get the neighbors presents cause we're staying with you one the weekends but she didn't have the money for it." Summer explained which caused Emma to frown. "so I wanna make them something instead so she doesn't have to worry about it... and then I can make even more friends too"

Darn this child and her lack of a filter.

"Besides I'm almost this many," she says holding up 6 fingers "so I can cook if I want to" summer adds with a nod having determined that herself.

"Fine, I'll make some sugar cookies and you can decorate them. how does that sound?" Emma offers as she started digging out different ingredients to place on the counter in preparation.

"And I'll help," summer says with a nod. help was one way to put it... more like pour things on the counter as she only got halfway to the bowl.

by the time the cookies were done and decorated it was dinner time, the girls enjoyed a meal of hamburger helper with veggies before sorting out the cookies onto 4 plates. one to keep, and one for each neighbor. Emma helped Summer write a simple thank you note for each one and added an explanation in her own handwriting after.

The girl's parents were friends of Emma's, they raised their kids to call her auntie all the same and they needed to work overtime for the next two months to afford the holidays and newborn expenses, so Emma was watching the girls on the first and third weekend of each month while their grandparents were watching them on the 2nd and 4th. A quick apology for any noise the girls create and a promise that the visits would go back to one every few months by January and that if anything was needed that Emma would do her best to try and accommodate it in the meantime.

Each plate had been delivered without much fanfare, Mrs. Russo took a while to get away from as she wanted to talk, she was probably working through empty nester syndrome so Emma didn't mind too much. Even Chris seemed Sympathetic enough to understand the situation as he patiently accepted another drawing from Summer along with the cookies.

Emma smiled at the memory as the ending credits started to roll for the movie, playing a dramatic orchestral rendition of the main song. "Alright girls, bedtime," Emma says and slowly shifts to get up. Soft footsteps on the stairs outside caught her attention as her expression switched to curiosity. and she heard the door rattle slightly. "not now" she says as her eyes widen in fear "girls bed now" she says as she drags summer along while carrying Annie. An aggressive thud against the door could be heard causing Summer to scream and duke to start barking "into the bedroom now" Emma barks as the baby wakes up and started to wail. Emma quickly put Annie down in the crib as she made sure both girls wherein the bedroom before locking them in. she needed to make it as difficult as possible for whoever this was to find them.

Crash bang thud.

Emma locked the bathroom and study to make it harder to tell which door was which before looking back to the door of her apartment as a gunshot could be heard as a bullet tore through the door breaking the lock.

They had a gun? oh my god, oh my god, nonono, they didn't have a gun before. why did they have one now? she didn't know how to handle that.

One more solid thud and the door burst open revealing a familiar masked individual. Emma yelped as she quickly moves to get out of view, as another shot rang in her ears and a hole was apparent in the bathroom door.

oh god oh god oh god.

She tried to focus as she leaned into the wall and listened for footsteps. Focus. she couldn't let them get any closer to the kids. As soon as the figure was in view she reeled back a fist to take a jab at their throat, landing the hit but the figure got a hold of her arm in the process and kicked her leg out from under her allowing them to pin her to the ground.

"Bitch get out of my way" the voice growls, putting the gun in their back pocket as they wrestle against her attempts to get away.

'*'*'*'*'

"Take it easy" Chris says as he closed the door to his apartment, a plate of very sloppily decorated cookies in one hand and another drawing in the other. He was about to drop them in the trash like the last plate of cookies but paused for a moment as he noticed a small folded piece of paper with To: Criz Written on it. he put the plate down on the island instead as he folded the drawing in half and put it in a drawer with a similar folded piece of paper.

he carefully took the note out from the plastic wrap and opened it.

To: Criz

Thak you fer beeing nice to Aumtie Emmy

Zummer

Chris shook his head with a soft chuckle before moving to sit down on the couch and read the rest of the note

Hey Chris,

Sorry about the girls, I know they can get a bit loud, and Summer won't seem to leave you alone. I appreciate the patience though. They're technically not my nieces, but their parents are good friends of mine, so they raised the girls as if I was a blood relative of theirs. Their parents are having a hard time with the bills for the holidays and need to work overtime, so I agreed to watch them on the first and third weekend of each month for the next few months while their grandparents watch them for the 2nd and 4th. probably until January but not long after that. It should go back to just one or two visits every few months after that. I know it's not, Idle for everyone else on the floor, so if there is anything I can do to be accommodating during that time let me know.

thanks,

Emma

He wasn't exactly a fan of listening to the girls screaming but, it was reasonable enough if she was just trying to help out some friends. they seemed like good people. "I'll put up with it for now then," he says before putting the letter down on his coffee table, then getting up to get a book off the shelf to pass the time.

A traveler's record of Romania: a beautiful country, its people and many villages.

he'd picked this one up a few months back when he was getting Ethan set up in Romania, it wouldn't hurt to know a bit more about the area if he ever found himself there for future missions. Considering he'd already had to go for a check-in, that seemed like it could be a regular occurrence. He managed to read a few chapters before nodding off.

BANG

The man stirred back to consciousness as he looked around, why did that sound like a gunsh-

a second shot was heard and a familiar scream after.

"Emma," Chris said as he quickly hurried back to his own room to grab his pistol before making his way to the hallway. after confirming no one was there he cautiously but briskly walked over to Emma's door to find that it had been knocked off its hinges

"Get off of me!" could be heard as Chris looked in to find whoever this creep was, with Emma pinned to the floor who was trying, and failing to get away. If he took the shot then that would be the end of this but the two were struggling too much to get a clear and safe target where he wouldn't accidentally hit Emma. it was a risk but he slowly and cautiously moved closer before flipping his pistol around to crack the handle of it over the back of the intruder's head.

'*'*'*'*'

"Let go, Let go of me," Emma said as she managed to get one arm free only for it to end up back in a pin a moment later

"Stop moving around so damn much, this'll be easier for bothaus" the intruder says "I ain't wanna kill no one but I can't be havin witnesses neither"

"Get off of me!" Emma said making another attempt to get free by kicking the guy but with no result due to her grounded position. this wasn't what she trained for at all.

"Shut u" the voice fell short, they felt heavier causing Emma to give a panicked shout only for the weight to be removed. she quickly shuffled away as she started to hyperventilate. Dilated watery eyes quickly looked around for any further threat only to find none but a familiar, comforting face.

"C-Chris" she says relieved as she watched him take the weapon from the intrude and remove the magazine from the gun and pocket the bullets before heading over to Emma to check on her. the young woman was struggling to stand up, her legs felt like they were made from jello.

"It's going to be okay," he says, putting his arm under hers to help her get up as she tried to speak.

"It's, I couldn't. gun. the girls" Emma tried as tears openly fell as she clung to him. any other time she'd be embarrassed by her actions but right now she needed to hold onto anything to ground herself. "why" she managed to finally say as her voice cracked.

Feeling the smaller shaking form cling to him got him to pause. It took a moment but he moved to hold her. "I don't know," he says answering the simple but reasonable question "we're going to find out though," he says as he looks down at the knocked-out figure. Mr. Russo and Mr. Jacobs could be seen cautiously Peeking into the apartment, one with a shotgun the other with a crowbar. "It's safe, we got him" Chris calls causing the older men to relax and walk over. the two notice the shaking and stammering woman and silently nod to Chris before working together to get the intruder out of the apartment and into the hallway.

"I-I Tried." she squeaked out between breaths which got Chris's attention "I t-tired, but it d-didn't matter" the woman moved to hid her face in her hands, feeling guilty for soaking Chris's shirt in tears "I C-couldn't do it." her voice cracked again as she was clearly holding her breath between words to try and keep from sobbing more than she already was.

"You did well," Chris says quietly, "You wanted to be able to hold them off until you could get help," he said trying to get her to calm down, yeah it wasn't exactly a combative display fit for the silver screen but she was alive, the kids were where were they? A concerned expression as he looked around. Duke's tail could be seen peeking out from between the couch and wall in his usual hiding place but there was no sign of the three noisy munchkins until a soft wailing came to ear.

"Auntie Emmy? Auntie Emmy, Annie doesn't like this game no more... can we come out now?" a quiet voice asked from behind the sturdy wooden door. hearing it seemed to bring Emma to her senses and remember her surroundings.

"The girls," she says and takes a small piece of metal from her pocket that looked like an Allen wrench and shuffled over to the door pressing it into the small hole of the doorknob creating a soft click. Emma takes a deep breath before opening the door, she was still shaking like a leaf and couldn't hide that.

"Emmy, are you crying?" Summer asks concerned before noticing Chris. "Why is Auntie crying?" she asks looking at him with a confused expression.

"I just saw something sad is all," she says with an attempt at a smile.

"you need to sit down or you're going to faint and scare them worse," Chris warns quietly causing Emma to nod.

"Is Chris sleeping over too?" Summer asks as she walks out of the room with Maurie. the question causes Emma to genuine laugh as she moves to sit on the couch

"No sweetie, he was making sure we're okay," Emma says as she fumbled to take her phone out. Chris watched her attempt to get it unlocked for a few moments before walking over to sit next to her and take the phone.

"Password," he asks and Emma responds with a short string of 6 numbers. "Which number are you trying to call."

"it's in my contacts under Chel," Emma says quietly as she rested her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees, she was still clearly in shock but it was starting to pass.

"can we watch tv?" Summer asks and Emma nods causing the girl to happily hurry over to pick out a movie from the shelf. In the meantime Chris dialed up the number.

"Em? what's up?" asked a concerned voice on the other end.

"Hey, Emma isn't doing well," Chris replies

"Who is this," Chelsea asks cutting Chris off.

"It's Chris, There was a break-in. the kids are safe but you need to come pick them up."

"What?! Oh- Oh my gosh. I'm on my way now," she says and the call ends.

"She's on her way," Chris says handing the phone back to Emma.

"Thanks..." Emma replies accepting the phone while avoiding eye contact. "And, thank you. for saving me..."

"...Not a problem" he replies with a nod "are you going to be okay?"

"Yes? ... No?... I don't know" Emma says with a frown "I just feel kinda pathetic... I made such a fuss about wanting to be ready and bothered you about it and I still wasn't."

"Then that just means you need to keep practicing." Chris offers "you kept them safe. I'd say you did pretty good" he repeats before noticing Mr. Jacobs wave for Chris to join him in the hallway. "It's not much but, if it'll help you can stay the night at my place. Duke as well if you can get him out from behind the couch"

Emma attempts to smile at that. "Thanks, Chris."

"Not a problem... I'll be outside if you need something just shout," he says as he gets up.

"Well, that I'm good at," Emma says with a short chuckle as she shook her head. she was making jokes. that was good.

Chris walks out to find the intruder unmasked and cuffed with two police officers in the hallway along with Mr. Russo and Mr. Jacobs. "Why does he look familiar," Chris asks looking at the other two.

"Benny Miller," Mr. Jacobs says with a frown at the cuffed man who was barely in his mid-twenties. "Your last neighbor who skipped town out of nowhere back in May..." hearing that brought an expression of realization. "You still owe me 4 months' rent," the landlord says with a frown "What the hell got into you, Benny?"

"Shit, look I'll tell you whatever you want just don't kill me," Benny says trying to scoot away from Chris as he noticed the gun at his hip.

"We're not going to kill you kid, but you're going to jail for a really long time," the police officer says with a frown as the other stopped him from scooting away.

"I can't go to jail for this, I won't make it in the slammer," he says panicking "you guys make deals yeah? I'll tell ya everything if you get me a deal."

"Why were you trying to break in?" Chris asks with a sneer.

"Ye locked me out of my place before I could get everything out. I was stashing something important in there. I needed it back or they were gonna get me."

"I tried getting in when it was late with my old key first but the lock was different. I remembered Mrs. Russo ran that key exchange so I tried seeing if any other places were open so I could get in that way but people started putting up cameras. I couldn't have witnesses, they were clear about that. Pickin' the lock didn't work. I was getting a desperate man" he says as his lip started to quiver. "They told me guarding that shit would be quick easy money and they didn't like it when I told um I lost it. told me I had till the end of the year to get it back or I was a dead man cause that's when they needed it."

"What were you guarding and who were you guarding it for?" the police officer behind Benny asks and the young man hesitates.

"you promise you're gonna cut me a deal?" he says again and the police look at each other.

"as long as you're telling the truth" they agree.

"Fine..." he says defeated, "I was watching it for the Stingrays," Benny says as if that should mean something to them but the group just looked at each other confused.

"... who?" the first officer asks confused.

"You know. the stingrays" benny says before giving a sight "look they ain't a big gang yet but this deal they had me guarding was gonna put us on top."

"oh for Fuck sake..." Chris says irritated. Some no-name gang stashed crap in the apartment next door to his and almost killed innocent people over it..."Where is it?"

"I hid it in the wall of the hallway" Benny admits before looking to the cops who both nod to each other as one goes into the apartment. it took a good 15 minutes but he eventually walked back out holding a leather-bound book.

"Yeah, that's it," Benny says with a nod.

"This is worth millions," the police officer says with a tone of disbelief.

"Bet your ass it is," Benny says "It's a black book for debts for the Striker gang," he says "Loan sharks, swiped it off one of their goonies back if February, we'd been negotiating the sale for months it was gonna make us rich."

"It was going to get you killed" the cop corrected. "you're a damn idiot trying that."

"that's good though right? I'm free to go?" Benny says with a hopeful expression "I did what I promised."

"Not a chance. you're still coming with us." the cop says which causes his expression to drop.

"you said." Benny started but was cut off.

"I said we'd get you a deal. didn't say we were gonna cut you free and forget" the cop clarifies "Alright kid we got you your book, now let's get moving" the cop behind Benny says before picking him up by the cuffs to get him to stand. the two lead him out of the building.

"And don't forget he owes me money, I still expect reparations for this," the landlord says as the cops walk the man out.

"Shame the kid got tangled up with that sort" Mr. Russo adds with a frown... "I'm gonna go tell the misses everything's sorted..." He adds before giving a short wave as he still seemed disgusted with what he heard.

"Have a good night" Mr. Jacobs says to Chris and the leaving Italian who gave a quiet Puah in response.

Chris shook his head and heads back into Emma's apartment, she was still sitting on the couch but she had Annie in her arms and Maurie was sleeping next to her, she must have gotten up to get the baby.

Footsteps echoed up the stairs with heavy breathing as Chelsea could be seen, out of breath standing in the broken doorway. "Mommy!" Summer says and happily hurries over to hug the woman who kneeled down to do the same and kiss the top of the child's head repeatedly. Chris watched from his place by the counter as Emma stood up and walked over, still puffy-eyed from crying but she had finally stopped shaking. Chelsea picked up Summer before looking at the door then to Emma as she hurried over and pulled her friend into a hug as well.

"Are you okay?" She asks as she let go "of course you're not what am I saying oh gosh Em."

"And you," she said looking to Chris before hurrying over and gave him a quick hug as well "you helped too, thank you so much." she says smiling at him"I don't know what I would have done if I lost a single one of my girls, Em included. thank you" Chelsea said before looking back to Em "Come on, you're coming home with us."

"She cant mama" Summer says as if that was obvious which confused the three adults.

"Baby why wouldn't she? of course she can" Chelsea corrected which caused Summer to shake her head.

"Nuh-uh." Summer replies matter of factly "Auntie Emmy and Chris are having a sleepover."

This child.

Chelsea had just about as good of a poker face as Emma did as she tried very hard not to laugh. "Summer no."

"They are!" she said louder as if she was being accused of lying " I heard um say so, I did!"

"Okay Honey," Chelsea says as she puts down summer before looking to Emma who was pretty red in the face now while Chris was very interested in inspecting his pistol. How was it that coming from the voice of a child, an innocent enough offer sounded so much worse than it was?

"The police asked me to stay put, they're going to come back in an hour or two for a statement I do need to stay here" Emma offers as an explanation "Chris was kind enough to let me borrow his couch in the meantime since my door is broken."

"Okay... If you need me, you call me. I don't care what time it is" Chelsea says as she accepts Annie from Emma. "Summer sweetie can you go get Maurie, it's time to go home." Summer nods and walks over to her sister giving her a gentle shake. the toddler wakes up with a grumble and Summer gets her off the couch and the walk over to their mother. Within a few minutes, the family had packed up leaving Emma and Chris behind in the mess of an apartment.

how to fix the awkward silence thou- Chris started to chuckle a bit as if he heard the beginning of Emma's thought. hearing him laugh causes a smile to cross Emma's face.

"Stop or I'm gonna start laughing too," she says between giggles.

"Ready for a sleepover?" he asks shaking his head.

"Go to Hell," Emma says with a solid laugh.

"Fine, you can stay here then," he says with a smirk as he shrugs and goes to walk away.

Emma gave a short whistle and Duke cautiously popped his head out from his hiding place. "Come on" she says and followed behind Chris all the same, she was glad that despite the craziness of the night, she could still just relax around him. The thought caused her to pause slightly but shake her head. It was nothing. Once they were inside Chris heads back to his room grabbing a spare blanket and Pillow from his closet before walking back to the living room to find Emma looking over the book he ditched earlier.

"Romania?" She asks curiously.

"It's something to read" he replies as he puts the blanket and pillow down on the couch.

"That sounds an awful lot like 'It was work' to me" Emma points out

"Kinda" he says as he takes the book.

"Alright, I'll stop asking then," Emma replies, at this point accepting that the guy had his secrets.

"Probably for the best" he replied per usual "If you take off the cushions, there's a pull out bed." he offers before taking a few steps to leave "Night"

"Good night" Emma replied before getting to work with moving around some of the furniture so she could get set up for the night. The two eventually settled in to rest, neither one really slept great but they slept nonetheless.

Chris was the first to start waking up as he noticed an extra source of heat next to him ad a soft pressure against his cheek. he peaked an eye open to find Duke laying on the bed and snuggled up next to him while licking the BSAA agent's face. "Ugh, Duke no, off the bed," he says disgusted as he pushed the dog a bit to get them to move. Duke gets up and jumps off the bed with an offended expression and heads out of the room.

What time was it? Chris thought as he lazily reached over to try and grab his phone from the nightstand. 6:48 Chris took a deep breath before pushing himself to get up and head into the kitchen noting along the way that Emma was still out cold on the pull-out bed in the living room. he went over to the coffee maker and got a pot started by the time it was done brewing the smell had caused Emma to stir from her slumber with a grumble.

She felt about as good as she looked. which was a mess. she tried running a hand through her hair to tame it a bit which sorta worked. at least her eyes weren't swollen anymore. With that, she got out of bed and trudged over towards the smell.

"Morning," she says and Chris nods in response before handing her a mug which she gratefully accepts. after a few sips, she speaks again "... Is it okay if we practice later"

"Are you sure?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," she says with a nod "not like we can meet up this week anyways with the holidays" she adds as further reasoning.

"Alright. I have some errands to do. but be here by 3" he says in response.

"Will do," she says before taking another drink of her coffee "Thanks," she says

"Not a problem" he replies. the two finish their drinks in comfortable silence before going their ways for the time being. Emma washed up and got into a fresh set of clothes then took care of duke. the Police stopped by shortly after and took a few pictures of the hole in the wall, the bullet hole in the bathroom door, and the front door. They also got a full statement from Emma about what happened before giving her the all-clear to go back to normal activities in the apartment. She was grateful for that since the mess from the cookies was still waiting to be cleaned up. She just about finished that when she heard steps going up the stairs. Chris knocked on the broken door to let her know he was back when she was read. "Duke bedtime," she says as the dog heads over to her room. she closes the door behind him then heads over to Chris's apartment where he was waiting in the doorway for her.

Chris lets her into the apartment once more and closes the door behind them. "I think we should make some changes to the lessons" He admits which got Emma's attention.

"Ok," she says cautiously as she watched Chris cleared a space for them to use by moving his dining table to the side then walked to the living room to mess with the pull-out bed, taking the mattress off it and placing that on the area he just cleared.

"What you were learning before was if you were on equal footing and very specific scenarios." he says "Now you need to work on how to get up when you're knocked down." he admits "so you're going to be doing floor training. and you need to think about how to get out yourself. no more drills, you need to be able to adapt and find your own solution."

Emma nods at the explanation. as much as it wasn't pleasant to admit, he had a point.

"We're also going to agree that a Knee to the nuts is fine and dandy in an emergency but if you do that to me you will be hurting for it" he adds which causes Emma to laugh.

"I promise," She says while holding up a hand as a vow "That I will not purposefully assault your manhood but if you toss me and it happens as an accident that is on you"

Chris grumbles at that but nods as he walks on the makeshift mat and kneels before motioning for Emma to join him. She cautiously does the same and within a matter of seconds, she was pinned with her wrists over her head. Memories of the last night came to mind causing her breathing to become quicker.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you" Chris says as he notices the beginnings of panic. "look for a weak spot"

Emma took a moment to calm down and accept that she wasn't actually in danger before shifting. a weak spot... the back? she tucked in both of her legs bore trying to reach around, she managed to end up partially sitting on his back in an odd contorted position that looked like a game of twister from hell.

Chris was impressed with her first instinct of tucking in her legs only to end up completely baffled after. How did she "What are you doing," He asks with an incredulous tone.

"I have no idea" She admits openly, What was he expecting, "you said to look for weak points" She rebuttals only to end up rolling as Chris Rolled over and knocking the air out of her with his shoulder jabbed into her back.

"Yeah well, whatever that was, that wasn't it," he says with a laugh before getting up. "you were close though."

Boom, Flop, bam. it has almost been an hour.

"One more try," Emma says clearly feeling some level of determination which caused Chris to shake his head.

"Alright." He says amused. Each time she was getting a decent start but would end up goofing somehow. At least she was using her strengths to her advantage, she hadn't even made an attempt at breaking the hold with her arms.

Okay, she could do this. Emma thought as she went through what did and didn't work before. she brought her legs up again so the flat of her calf was pressed into his chest before shifting her right leg so it was bent with her foot flat on the mat so her knee was pressing into him. okay. now what. Shift and PUSH.

Thud.

One moment he was thinking over how to change the plan again the next he was staring at his own ceiling with Emma's Face a few inches from his, staring down at him with a shocked expression.

That worked? THAT WORKED?! She smiled at the thought. She did that. her. Where the hell was that last night.

Chris smiled back at her before he spoke up "Not bad, let's try it again but do it faster" he instructs.

"Right," Emma says and the two continue training.

eyy look at dat foreshadowing, the person trying to break in was the prior resident of Emma's tenant. I gave a few tiny hints in the first chapter for that. kinda? I dunno I don't think I'll give myself that much credit. but yeah the scratches on the wall, the fact that no one happened to the prior resident, along with the fact that he didn't want anyone else to have a key to his apartment for the Key share were the clues I left that the prior tenant was shady.

Review Responses:

Monarch123- Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review :) I hope the grand reveal lived up to your expectations.