Chapter Sixteen

Meetings

Wesker sat at his desk and typed away at his laptop. It had been a long, and somewhat exciting dew days and now he finally had some time to catch up on his work. Claire had left some hours ago, the pair having cleared the air, and discussed that Wesker was not, in any way shape or form, leaving her. Once she had been convinced, and after a round of sex against a now dented wall, she had gone home- with his promise to return as soon as he had finished his work. Which admittedly had been a large motivator for him to get it done- not that he needed the motivation, but it helped.

The silence in the room made for an apt working environment as well, it was so rare that he was left to work like this. As he continued to type he frowned, it was too quiet. Elle had yet to come and bother him with anything, in fact, he had not seen her since before Claire had arrived, and the fact that she had not come to pick at him now that she was gone, was a little odd.
He glared down at his hands as he realised that he had stopped typing. He went back to his typing and pushed thoughts of Elle out of his mind- for whatever reason, she had chosen not to come and bother him, a fact which was now enabling him to work, which in turn would get him closer to a break where he could go home… at least for a few days.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. His fists clenched and he slid his glasses on. It was most likely Elle, and if it was, he was not giving her the satisfaction of knowing that she was irritating him- even if she knew, she always knew. "Yes." He replied stiffly, continuing to type.

The door opened, and surprisingly, Ethan walked through the threshold. Behind him, was Heisenberg, but the man did not follow into the room. He stood by the door and glared at Wesker before the door closed, blocking him from view- what could that be about? Wesker pondered. He watched as Ethan walked to the chair across from his desk and eyed him leveled him with a hard stare.

Wesker pulled his hands away from the laptop and placed them on the table, showing Ethan that he was going to listen to him. He watched as Ethan placed his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. Wesker resisted the urge to raise a brow, he mere gestured lightly with his hands, indicating him to speak.

"I want to see them," he said. "I want to see Rose…" his eyes glistened but he did not cry.

Interesting. Wesker leaned back in his chair as his mind thought over Ethan's request. He could do it. It would be irritating, but it was achievable. "I can arrange that." He replied, tapping his fingers against his chest. "You will have to wait for some time, however." His brows raised above his glasses in emphasis to his words.

Ethan paused, as though soaking in Wesker's words. He then nodded, though it seemed more as though he was agreeing with himself. "Okay." He said. He looked down at his clasped hands for a stretch of time, before looking back up at Wesker, his blue eyes red- a sign that he had been crying. "I'll wait, I just want to see them."

Wesker sat up and leaned forward in the chair. "What do you wish to achieve with this meeting?" he could think of many reasons why Ethan would want to see his family, but he would prefer to hear it from him. He hoped, however, that Ethan did not want to attempt a re-kindling of his relationship with Mia, the woman was married, had moved on. This was not like himself and Claire, if Ethan went into this with that assumption, it would end harshly, ugly.

Ethan shook his head, his lips twitching upwards into a small smile. "I don't have any motives, I just want to see them- to see if Rose is alright." His face softened at the mention of his daughter. He ran a hand through his long hair which prompted Wesker to make a note to offer to get it cut, it was almost reaching his shoulders. Now was not the time to offer a haircut, however.

Wesker thought over what Ethan was saying. He wanted to see them, he could understand the sentiment, were he in Ethan's shoes, he would be much the same. He was feeling somewhat sentimental at lately, he realised as a wave of appreciation for Claire washed over him. He inwardly frowned- what would the Wesker of twenty years ago think of him now? He turned his attention back to Ethan, he would ponder his own mellowing at a later time.

"She's nearly three now," Wesker said evenly- he understood the flinch that took Ethan. He too, had missed a good part of his son's life, at least Rose would not be five by the time she gets to see her father again. He again felt appreciation for Claire, the fact that she had waited for him… He leaned forward and typed at his laptop, opening a search bar in his browser… she deserved some flowers.

"I've missed so much…" Ethan lamented, his fists clenching. His arms shook and his knuckles went white. "Please, let me see her, as soon as possible." He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath.

Wesker pulled away from his laptop. "I will inform you when a meeting is arranged." He was already most of the way through planning how he was going to arrange the meeting- he would most likely need to converse with Chris, his lips tightened lightly at the thought.

Ethan nodded. "Thank you." He pulled himself up to stand, his movements clunky, exhaustion shining through. "I'll leave you to your work."

He nodded at Wesker, who nodded in response, then he walked towards the door, reaching to grasp the handle. He jumped as the door swung open. Wesker watched with rapt interest as his face softened at the sight of Heisenberg. Wesker continued to watch as a silent conversation appeared to occur between the pair. Heisenberg tilted his head with his brows raised, while Ethan inclined his head in response. Heisenberg nodded his head back, indicating for the other to follow, which Ethan did.

As the door clicked shut, Wesker reached for his desk's drawer, and pulled out a little black book. Opening the book, he flipped the pages until he reached a section with the title; 'Ethan and Karl'. He smirked, then moved to add to his bet.

X

"He going to help you?" Heisenberg asked casually as he slipped his hands into his pockets. He kept a casual demeanor as he walked beside the quiet man. He eyed the other man. Ethan had the air of a man who had walked through hell- and he could understand that. Heisenberg had not been the most relaxed person when he had awoken, but, compared to when he was with Miranda, things could only move up for him. Ethan however, needed some time to adjust, he had, effectively gone from accepting his own death, to having to accept life without his family.
Heisenberg glared up at the automatic lights as they flickered on, he hated the things. Yes, they made the journey through the white hallways easier, but there was something about them- perhaps it was the lack of control he had over them? He frowned and made a mental note to stop reading psychology books, he could do without the self-analysis.

He glanced down sideways, to Ethan walking beside him. The man looked pale, fresher than he had been in the shower, but he still looked pallid. His eyes scanned the other's greasy shaggy hair, even after the shower it curled in a mass under his ears. Then were was his eyes, the once blue but now bloodshot orbs screamed of needing a sleep.
He turned left and headed towards the dining area, seemingly without thinking, Ethan followed him. Heisenberg resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He needed to find something to distract the man, at least until Wesker was able to organize a meeting.

Heisenberg frowned, pausing in his stride. Why did he care about Ethan's wellbeing? Why did it matter to him if the man was distracted? Was it because the man had promised to show him things? That felt as though it could be a part of it, but it also felt wrong- that was not why. He thought back to seeing the other on the floor of the shower, so helpless and depressed… it reminded him of himself; years ago when he had been able to show emotions, before he had been brought down by Miranda. Ethan had been affected by the woman as well, she was effectively the reason for his current position, the reason for his family being split up, the reason he was lonely.

Heisenberg closed his eyes. Perhaps he was lonely as well… perhaps that was why…

"You alright?" Heisenberg jumped at the sound of Ethan's question.

He blinked, as though realizing that he had been standing unmoving. He turned to Ethan and saw the other looking up at him with concern. He felt his lips twitch, perhaps it was simply that Ethan seemed to care for him- perhaps that was the reason he cared about the others wellbeing. He folded his arms over his chest and nodded, his lips curling into a small smile.

"I'm fine, Papa-Bear." He grinned. "Lost in my own mind." He pointed to his head and rolled his eyes. "Worried about little old me?" he winked.

Ethan bristled and huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine, I wont ask about you." He strode forward, away from Heisenberg and towards the cafeteria. He made a sound of irritation and as he reached the door. He grasped the metal handle and pushed it down. Before opening the door, he paused, lowering his head in thought. A few moments passed before he shook tilted his head back at the other, his eyes flashing with something.

"You coming?"

Heisenberg felt his lips twitch. "For you? Always." He strolled after Ethan as he opened the door and stepped into the cafeteria. He locked onto the faint laugh he heard escape Ethan, and felt a sense of pride. So far he was the only one who had been able to cause such a reaction in the man.

"Coffee?" Ethan called over his shoulder as he walked towards the coffee maker.

Heisenberg walked towards a nearby table and nodded as he took a chair. "Two sugars." He replied. As he sat down he looked over at the other man who was preparing their drinks. He would have to give a report on Ethan's progress soon. He understood why, as he saw more of Ethan than Wesker did, but everything that he could tell about Ethan, could be seen by spending five minutes with the man. He was depressed.

Heisenberg draped an arm over the back of his chair and continued to observe the other. The cafeteria was stark white, and Ethan seemed to blend into that starkness, he was so pale, and his white clothes did not help the situation. Though he had a feeling that Ethan would not mind blending in with the furniture. The way that Ethan was lately, he had a feeling that Ethan liked being unnoticeable.
Heisenberg shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. He needed to think about something else, it couldn't be healthy constantly thinking about Ethan and Ethan's wellbeing. He frowned as his brain continued to think about the sad expression etched on the other's face- he needed to find something else to think about. It was too much. Fucking Ethan and his kicked dog expression and his messy hair and his-

"Here." Heisenberg jumped. Blinking he lifted his head up and to see the object of his thoughts standing in front of him with a steaming coffee mug in each hand.

Smiling, Heisenberg accepted the drink and nodded in gratitude. "Thanks Papa-Bear." He sipped the hot liquid. He almost moaned at the flavour of the drink- once Ethan got the okay from Wesker, the man should work at a café or something, he was really good at making drinks- the fact that he had remembered his drink also helped.

"You make an amazing drink." He praised, feeling his lips twitch as Ethan's face flushed red.

"Thanks." He ducked his head, paying attention to his drink. The pair continued to drink silently for some time, a comfortable silence filling the two. Then Ethan spoke, his fingers rubbing against the rim of the mug.

"Do you… am I wrong, for wanting to see them again?" he did not look up, his finger continued to dance around the mug.

Heisenberg frowned. What kind of question was that? Ethan had every right to want to see his family again! Were Heisenberg not sure his own family was long dead, he would have wanted to see his own family. Had Wesker said something to him? Or was this Ethan being self-deprecating and believing that he was not worth seeing his family? He frowned, his hand clenching around the handle of the mug a defensiveness for Ethan filling his chest.

"Two fucking years!?" a new voice shouted.

Heisenberg and Ethan frowned, locked eyes, then both looked over to see the a hulk of a man walk into the room, followed by Elle, who seemed far too entertained. Heisenberg's eyes slid over the muscular man, he had never seen the man before, not in the two years since he had woken had this person been at the building. But Heisenberg got the impression that he had been there before, the way that he moved through the room with ease, it spoke of someone who was familiar with the place.

"Yeah well, I forgot, sue me." Elle chuckled with a shrug. "What's the problem- you know now, and the money is transferring as we speak."

The man snorted and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I won the fucking bet, you should have just given me the fucking money." He walked towards the coffee machine and leaned his bum against the counter. It was then that he noticed the other two, he frowned. "Who the fuck are they?" he nodded his head towards the pair.

Elle pulled out a pair of coffee mugs and poured some coffee for them both. She looked over to Ethan and Heisenberg and smiled. "That is Karl, and Ethan." She patted the hulking man beside her on the bicep. "Guys, this is Jack- he used to work with us, then he got married-" she paused and frowned at Krauser. "did you marry Manuela?" at his expression she shook her head. "Anyway, these guys are our new additions."

Krauser pulled his hands from his pockets and reached for one of the mugs. He held the hot drink to his lips and blew on the drink. "New additions?" he snorted. "Shit, which part of the world did Wesker drag you two from?"

"Romania." Heisenberg answered for them- he took a quick glance at Ethan who seemed uncomfortable. He glanced back at Krauser- was this man like them? Had he been saved by Wesker as well?

Krauser barked a laugh. "You were part of that shitshow?" he took a sip of his drink. "Wesker asked me to watch his house while he was gone, I got paid to sit in a shack and make sure no one tried anything." He looked at Elle with a small smile. "I got to take pot shots at Ada~" he sang quietly, his smile curling into a large grin.

Elle let out a breath of laughter. "Oh I need to hear about that." She frowned. "Hang on, Luis told me that Leon nearly let her-"

"I wanted to see how far she'd make it." Krauser interrupted. "When she got kicked out, I helped her dance back to her car."

Heisenberg watched with fascination as Elle spat her drink out with laughter. He had never seen an actual spit take before, and he did not quite understand what was happening in the conversation, but something was clearly entertaining, and Elle seemed pleased with it. He was struck again by the difference between Wesker's people and his time with Miranda. People laughed here, were happy with their situations. It was something that he had trouble processing. He glanced to Ethan and found him watching the scenario with a similar expression.

"So how you liking this shithole?" Krauser prompted, drawing their attention.

"It's… quiet." Ethan replied softly. "..except when it's not… then it's loud."

Heisenberg frowned again. Something about the way that this Jack had described the place… calling it a shithole. Something about that had struck him, was it a shithole- yes probably- but Heisenberg had experienced a real shithole. Comparatively, this place was a haven. He paused, why was he feeling so protective of the place? It was effectively a research facility that was poking and prodding him, but he… he liked the place. The thought made him frown. He should not have been feeling this way about the place… but he did and it shook him to his core.. the realization…

…was this place a home?

XXX

True to his word, three weeks later, Wesker arranged the meeting. Heisenberg sat on his bed and watched as Ethan paced his room. The man had come straight to Heisenberg's room as soon as Wesker had told him of the arranged meeting. Ethan had been agitated, naturally, and had needed someone to talk to- or so he claimed, he had not been doing much talking and instead had been pacing. Wesker had only given Ethan some few hours notice- he would be seeing his family again soon.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, it was shorter, Elle had cut it recently. He was stressing. If the pacing did not give that away, then the grey expression on his face certainly did. Heisenberg rolled over on the bed, lying on his stomach, he reached for the little fridge at the base of his bed. He pulled out two beers and pulled himself up to sit. The lids popped off and flew themselves to the bin. He took a sip of the cool beverage, then held the bottle up to the pacing man.

"Daddy." He said, when Ethan ignored him and continued to pace, he tried again, louder. "Ethan!"

Ethan paused, his eyes wide and wild, as though just realizing that Heisenberg was there. He turned to the other man, his eyes locking onto the bottle, then slid up to the man holding it to him. He glanced between the two sporadically, before hesitantly stepping towards the other man. His hands grasped the bottle, and Heisenberg placed his other hand over Ethan's. Ethan's hand trembled under his own.

"It's alright." Heisenberg's voice was soft- why was he so soft with the other man? "Du wirst in Ordnung sein." He murmured.

Ethan frowned, his eyes flashing as he tried to think about what the other had said. "I don't speak German…" he eventually said.

"I said, 'Ill kick your ass if you don't relax'."

Ethan chuckled, his face lightening. "You did not." He lightly punched him on the arm. "What did you say?"

Heisenberg winked. "Drink your beer, you have to go soon."

Ethan realised that the other was correct and took his drink. Careful of his drink, he threw himself onto the bed beside the other man. The bed sagged under his weight and shook as he moved around the bed and positioned himself to lean against the wall. He sipped his drink, then let out a sigh at the refreshing taste.
Heisenberg pulled himself up and positioned himself beside Ethan. He also took a sip of his drink, it was cold, he liked cold beer, and this tasted wonderful, not like the shit that Miranda used to let them have.

"I don't know how to feel…" Ethan said quietly, when the other hummed, he continued. "I want to see them.. I want to see Rose.." he sucked in a breath. "I just, I don't know how to act. So much has happened…"

Heisenberg shrugged, there was not really anything he could say, he had no idea how to deal with these sorts of things. He didn't have anyone left, there was no reason for him to learn how to address this kind of affair- though he had a feeling that, with things like this, there was no preparing. He took a sip of his beer and ran his thumb up and down the neck of the bottle. His eyes locked onto the pattern created by his thumb. It felt strange, he mused. Strange being what Ethan would consider a support person. It could have been because he was familiar to the blond, someone who understood some of what he had gone through? Either way, it was a strange feeling, being someone's confidant.

"Your main issue, right now, should be Mia." He said aloud. "I hate to say it, but Rosie might not remember you," he ignored Ethan's flinch and continued. "you've been pretty much dead for two years Daddy, your wife got remarried." He sipped his drink. "She's moved on and might be… shocked to see you."

Ethan let out a pained sound. "I know." He pulled himself from the bed and paced the room a few times. "Don't you think I've told myself that very same thing?" he hissed, rounding on Heisenberg with his fists clenched. "I fucking know, you don't need to rub it in." he let out a growl and went back to his pacing.

"Hey," Heisenberg shot back. "Don't take it out on me- I didn't do shit."

"Well, that's just it, isn't it?!" Ethan flailed his hands, causing some of the beer to spill. His angry eyes glared at Heisenberg with some unspoken message, but before the other could respond. Ethan let out a frustrated growl, raised his hands in defeat and stalked from the room. Slamming the door behind him.

Heisenberg stared at the door in wonder, not entirely sure at what had just happened.

X

Ethan stalked down the hallway, heading towards the gym. He wanted to, no, needed, to hit something. He shouldn't have shouted at Karl, but the man had just been talking and not doing anything to help him- he didn't know what he wanted Karl to do, but he needed the man to do it… whatever it was.
He frowned, turning down another hallway. He should go back an apologise, Karl had been his main support since waking up. He shook his head, he knew that he was being an arse, but he could not find it in himself to go and apologise. He was too pent up, too angry.

Truthfully, he was worried about meeting Mia. Karl was not wrong when he had said that she would be the main issue. Their relationship had not been the greatest, and then he had died which would also be considered a strain to whatever was left of the relationship… but she was also remarried, where could they go from there? He couldn't just step back into their lives and expect her to give up what she had built. To give up a relationship where she was happy, to go back to him and the shitshow that was their marriage.
Where did that leave him? Where would his life go after this meeting? and what did he hope to achieve from the meeting?

As he turned to head down another hallway, he bumped his side into the wall. He groaned at the pain in his shoulder and smacked the wall with the palm of his hand. Hissing at the stinging pain in the palm of his hand, he slumped into the wall, his forehead seemingly taking his body weight as he leaned into the cement. He closed his eyes with a sigh, then opened them again as he stared at the wall.
Wesker kept the walls clean, he absentmindedly noticed as he took in the stark whiteness of the paint. He let out another sigh. He was going to have to apologise to Karl, the man was one of the only friends he had and the man didn't deserve Ethan's behaviour.

He closed his eyes again, ignoring the pain in his forehead. He had no ideas as to how today was going to go, but if it went as badly as he felt that it would, he would need a friend. And, as crazy as it was, Karl was his friend. The man came to check on him during the night for goodness sake! If that wasn't the actions of someone who was a friend, then Ethan wasn't sure what was.
He smacked the wall and cursed. He needed to get this over and done with… but as much as he wanted to see Mia, and to see Rose, he was frightened. He felt himself dangling on the precipice of a mountain, praying for the best result. He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He was going to have a beer with Karl when all of this was over- the man deserved it for putting up with him and his shit.

"Ethan!" he tilted his head to see Elle running to him. She came to a halt in front in front of him, a strange expression on her face as she took him in.

Ethan was always confused by the fact that she never needed to pant after running- especially considering that some mornings he was exhausted from walking to the bathroom, though that could just be his lazy side. He pulled himself from the wall and turned to her fully. He leaned his side against the wall and wrapped his arms around his chest in a way that was almost defensively- not that he feared Elle in any way, but there was something about her expression that bothered him.

Her eyes flicked up and down as she scanned him, they then locked with his and softened. She reached up to adjust her tied up hair, tightening the tie. "Sorry to bother you," she said. "Boss sent me to find you," she bit her bottom lip lightly then continued. "you have a meeting today." She looked like she wanted to say more but did not.

His chest tightened painfully as he realised what she was talking about. His palms started to sweat and he rubbed them against his shirt, he paused as he realised what he was doing and glanced down to see if the fabric of his shirt showed those kinds of mark- relief flooded him as he realised that his shirt looked fine. The last thing he wanted was to meet his family looking like trash. He almost laughed at himself, worrying about his clothes when he had been dead for nearly two years, Mia probably did not care about what he was wearing.

"I see." He replied evenly, holding back the shaking of his voice.

"Do you need a minute?" she asked, her eyes flashing sympathetically. "or we can head down now?"

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, the blood pounding so loudly that it hurt. He nodded slowly. "No, I'm ready…" he was a strange mixture of ready and completely terrified, but he knew that he had to do this. He had to meet Mia.

Elle nodded then reached out to touch his arm, at his flinch, she pulled back without touching him. She offered him a smile instead. "Lets go then." She turned and gestured for him to follow her. Her heels clicking as she walked.

Ethan followed behind her, flitting between random areas of the hallways. He was trying to focus his thoughts, but he could not. His eyes landed on Elle's heels, then back at the fluorescent lights, then at Elle's back, then at another random area of the hallway. He scratched at his hands as he walked, images of the last time he had seen them, his wife and daughter. He and Mia had fought, it may have been Miranda at the time, but their relationship had been shaky before Miranda. Then there was Rose, the last time had had seen her was before he had died. She would not remember him, he knew that but he still wanted to see her… wanted to hold her.

The clicking of her heels was almost maddening. He tried to focus on other sounds, but if he ignored the clicking, then the sound of his blood pumping came back. He knew that it was his anxiety, he knew that's what it was, but he still had no way to deal with it. The clicking suddenly stopped and he glanced at Elle to see her standing by the door to Wesker's office.

"The Boss has gone home for a few days," she reached into he inside pocket of her blazer and pulled out a small device with a button. "You have as long as you need," she held the device out to him. "when you're finished, push the button and I'll organize for them to go home." She smiled at him as he took the device from her. "Good luck in there Ethan- we, Karl and I, have some drinks waiting for you if you need."

Ethan seriously doubted that Karl had any drinks waiting for him, after how he had acted earlier, but he appreciated the gesture. He nodded and pocketed the device, then watched as Elle stepped away from the door and winked at him- it gave him a moment to appreciate the support that the people who worked for Wesker offered. This place, strange as it was, seemed to be a strange family. He nodded gratefully at her.

"If you need anything, push the button." Elle said, moving to stand by the wall across from the door.

Ethan nodded at her, then stepped forwards, to the door. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the doorhandle and pushed it down, opening the door with a click. Taking another shaky breath, he opened the door and crossed the threshold into the room. His eyes instantly locking onto the woman, dressed in a long-sleeved flower dress, standing by Wesker's desk.

Mia.

She looked fresh. Fresher than he had seen her in a long time- not since he had first married her. His eyes locked with hers and he could see her wide eyes scanning him up and down. He in turn, scanned her as well. She looked healthy, her skin had colour and the grey under her eyes were gone. He felt his heart slow as he closed the door behind him.

The sound of the door clicking shut seemed to snap her from her thoughts. She looked up at his face, her eyes connected and he saw something flash in hers. She moved and he sucked in a breath. He was not sure what he expected, but he did not expect her to strike him across the cheek. He was not even sure that it had happened at first, until he felt the sting against his cheek. He slowly raised a hand to his cheek, unsure of what to say.

"Two years," she hissed. He recognised that voice, apparently she still had the gift of sounding completely and utterly terrifying. "two years, and you couldn't call," she bit her lip. "couldn't let me know that you were okay?!"

He felt something fire up within his chest. "There was no way for me to call!" he defended himself- he was dead, what was she expecting of him?

"Did you even think about us?" she growled, waving her hands hysterically. "Two years, two fucking years, Ethan!" she ran a hand through her hair- a sign of frustration. She closed her eyes and shook her head, before opening them again and turning to him. "Do you know what we went through- I thought you were dead-" her eyes were red. "You've been here, living it up."

"I was dead, Mia." Ethan hissed, clenching his fists. How dare she assume that he was living it up. He had only been conscious for some few months, and in those months, he had been in excruciating pain. Waking up with fever's most nights, as well as night terrors. He had been in pain, real pain, where the only comfort was fucking Karl or all people.

Mia stepped back, as though struck, he pressed on. "I was dead, do you understand- did that sink into your fucking mind Mia-" he pointed to his head to emphasize his point. "Don't you think that I would have done anything to contact you if I was alive?" he deflated with a sigh. He was hurt, after everything they had been through, she was blaming him for all of this. like he had control over his life at that point.

Mia's shoulders slumped. "I'm Sorry Ethan," she sighed. "I'm just overwhelmed," she looked away from him. "I mourned you, Ethan." She said quietly. "It took me months to move on, Rose was miserable, too, it was like she knew that something had happened." She glanced back up at him. "Do you want to see her?"

Ethan felt his heart jolt. "Yes." He said quietly.

Nodding, she walked to the other side of Wesker's office to a sliding door. Ethan frowned as he realised that he had never noticed it before, had it always been there? How much attention did he pay to these things? He shook his head, it wasn't important, he was rarely in here anyway. Mia walked through the door, and things were silent for the longest time, at least it felt like a long time. It was most likely only a minute though.
Then Mia was walking back in, a little girl with blonde hair and a red dress on her hip. The girl was looking around the room curiously, then her blue eyes reached Ethan. She eyed him curiously, but there was no recognition in her eyes, just curiosity.

Ethan felt a tremor run through his body. "Rose.." he inched forward to grasp her, but hesitated. "She's grown…" he murmured. His eyes drinking her in. He smiled at the little pig tails in her hair. Her face was pudgy, which was normal for a little child, but somehow her pudgy face made her look even more adorable. His fingers twitched, he wanted to touch her.

"This is…" Mia hesitated. "This is,"

"I'm Ethan." Ethan said shakily. He smiled at her and she continued to stare at him, her fingers tightening on her mother's shoulder. "How are you Rose?"

The girl was quiet, calculating, before she answered. Her voice small and adorable. "Good."

Ethan let out a shaky smile. "You've grown so much." His hand twitched again and he held it out to her. She eyed it then took the offered hand. He shook it and let out a small smile. He felt himself melt at the sight of her smile.

"Rose." Mia said quietly. "Ethan is, he's your father."

"Can I," Ethan began hesitantly. "Can I give you a cuddle?"

Ethan held his breath as Rose watched him for a long time, eventually, the girl nodded and allowed herself to be passed to him. He clutched her to his chest and breathed in her scent. She smelled like Mia's perfume- of course she smelled like Mia's perfume. He let out a choked breath, his heart soared as her little arms wrapped around her neck.

X

Some time later, he found himself sitting on the floor, drawing with Rose, while Mia sat on the other side of the room watching them. He drew a smiling sun and she drew some circles and swirls on the page. They were using paper and pens from Wesker's desk drawers, so their picture wasn't too colourful, but it meant the world to Ethan.

"You remarried." Ethan said casually as Rose coloured in his sun with her red pen.

Mia's face spasmed. "Yes." She replied, her voice even. "His name is Thomas," she pushed her hair behind her ear, and smiled a lovely smile. "He's very good to us."

Rose grinned. "Tom is fun." She started to draw something that resembled a potato.

Ethan smiled at Rose, he stamped down the jealousy he felt, and instead focused on the happiness he felt for them. They deserved safety and security, they deserved a happy life. "Is he good to Rose?" he asked Mia, but Rose was the one that answered.

"He my friend!"

Ethan smiled and drew a stick-figure cat. "That's good."

"He really helped he feel safe," Mia said quietly. "helped me to come back to myself. I am grateful to have him."

Ethan nodded. "You deserve a normal life." He said, then looked at his daughter. "You both do."

"Why did it take two years Ethan?" Mia prompted. "Two years."

"Something about my tissues-" he answered with a shake of his head. Luis had explained it to him, but he had barely understood any of it. "I don't get it, but my organs apparently kept eating each other, or dying or something." He shrugged and smiled at Rose as she added some lines to his cat.

Mia nodded, her eyes flashing, as though she had already developed some hypothesis as to what had happened to him. "Have you…" she paused, thinking on her next words. "are you alright here? Are you safe? Are you happy?"

Ethan snorted. "I'm safe, this is probably one of the safest places in the world." He looked up at Mia, his lips curled into a small smile. "They're pretty good here, I'm fed, looked after, there's beer, everything I could possibly need- Elle said that once I get the okay, I'll be pretty much free to go." It was true, Elle had said that, and Ethan had been planning the first thing he was going to do when he had freedom; Spa baths and beer.

Mia nodded, absorbing the information. Her face turned serious. "Are you happy?"

Ethan paused. Was he happy? That was a tough question. His life was certainly different since he had woken up and he was still stuck in the labs, but he enjoyed his growing exercise routines and Karl. His friend who always had beer for him. Who was in a similar boat to him and understood, understood Ethan. His lips curled into a smile, yes, he was happy.

"I am."

Mia nodded. "Who gave you that smile?"

He jumped. "What?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "Ethan, we were married," she folded her arms over her chest. "Believe it or not, I know you- you have a crush."

Ethan blanched.

X

Elle opened the door, her eyes locked onto Ethan who was giving his daughter a hug. He was standing with her in his arms. His eyes closed as squeezed her tightly. Elle frowned. The man deserved more time, she had told him to take as long as he needed- she had thought that she would be making them beds, but here they were now. She looked at Mia who was eyeing her with a guarded expression. She smiled sadly at the other woman.

Mia frowned at Elle then walked to Ethan. She wrapped her arms around her ex-husband and her child. "Take care of yourself." She squeezed him, her arms tightening around him as he let out a whimper. She kissed him under the ear, "Talk to your Karl, who knows what might happen."

Elle tilted her head as she caught Mia's whispered words. She processed what they could mean and she felt her lips curl into a smile. She hoped that Ethan took Mia's advice. She had no idea what the pair had talked about, but from that statement, she could most certainly imagine. She looked at Ethan who huffed in response to Mia's words.

Mia pulled back and took Rose from Ethan, she placed the girl on her hip and looked at Ethan with wet eyes. "We need to see each other again." She said quietly. "Promise me that we will."

Ethan glanced at Elle, who nodded. "Whenever you need."

Ethan nodded and looked back at Mia. "We will, I promise."

X

Ethan staggered towards his bedroom, the world around him seemed to be spinning, he could not focus. Saying goodbye to Rose when she was a baby had been hard, saying goodbye this time, had been harder than he could have possibly imagined. As hard as it had been, he was glad for the closure, and glad to be able to say a proper goodbye, one filled with a real promise to see each other again.

He found his room pushed open the door. His body running on auto-pilot, he walked to his bed and sat down with a slump. He dropped his arms to his knees and leaned forwards, his eyes locking onto the small patterns in the white and grey tiles. A choked sob escaped his lips and he felt the hot pressure behind his eyes.

"Here." He looked up and saw Karl standing before him, two beers in his hands. Ethan let out a shaky laugh and accepted the drink. No other words were exchanged as the man moved to sit beside him. The pair silently and peacefully drinking their beverages together.

XXX

Claire diced at the onions and blinked rapidly to prevent her tears. One would assume that since she had been upgraded with a virus, that she would be almost immune to the effect of the vegetable. However, it seemed that the opposite had occurred, her eyes seemed to be more sensitive to these things now. Once the onions were diced, she placed them into the casserole dish and went about chopping the other vegetables.

"What are you making, Dear Heart?" she looked up to see Wesker standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Beef casserole." She smiled at him and looked back at her cooking.

"Do you require assistance?"

She shook her head. "I'm nearly done," she paused. "you could turn the radio on, if you like?" she heard him walk away, then the sound of music flowed from the living room and into the kitchen. She smiled and called out a 'thank you', before moving onto the next vegetable.

As she chopped the food she felt eyes on her and glanced over to see Wesker leaning against the doorframe, an odd expression on his face. "Everything alright?" she asked. It wasn't every day that Wesker just stood there staring at her. He shook his head in response to her words and showed no sign of moving from his spot. Claire rolled her eyes and continued to prepare the meal.

"Jake is staying with Al and Alexis tonight." Wesker said.

Claire nodded and finished dicing the vegetables. "I'll freeze the leftovers then." She added the diced vegetables and meat to the dish, then took it to the oven. Wesker opened the oven door for her and she smiled gratefully before placing the dish into the heat.

"Where's Belle?" she asked.

"In her room, studying." Wesker answered.

Claire nodded and washed her hands in the kitchen sink. "Quiet night then?" she smiled as she turned to him.

Wesker inclined his head in a nod and gestured for her to follow him. Claire raised a brow and followed after him. As she walked into the living room, her eyes were instantly drawn to the brightly coloured bouquet of flowers on the coffee table. Her eyes widened then shot to Wesker who was watching her with a wry smile.

"Not that I'm not grateful, but what are these for?" Claire stepped towards him. She let out a gasp as Wesker grasped her arms and pulled her into an embrace.

"You deserve them." He said simply.

"Albert?" Confusion laced her voice and painted her face as he adjusted her in his arms, then encouraged her to slow dance with him. As much as Claire enjoyed the attention, it was still greatly out of character for Wesker. Again she eyed him. "Albert?"

The pair moved in sync with the music. "I appreciate you Claire."

Claire frowned. "Is everything alright."

His red eyes bore into her blue. "I am fine, Dear Heart." He tilted his head down, his nose brushing against hers.

Claire let out a sigh and allowed herself to move with Wesker in place to the music. "I love you Albert."

"Dear Heart."

A/N: I kept getting writers block as I wrote this chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it!