The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.

We are strong
No one can tell us we're wrong
Searching our hearts for so long
Both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield

You're begging me to go
Then making me stay
Why do you hurt me so bad
It would help me to know
Do I stand in your way
Or am I the best thing you've had

Believe me
Believe me
I can't tell you why
But I'm trapped by your love
And I'm chained to your side

We are young
Heartache to heartache we stand
No promises
No demands
Love is a battlefield

United States, Chris' Apartment

Katerina couldn't stop herself from feeling distressed, after all her baseless fears regarding the Edonia's mission had materialized themselves into reality. Chris did not come back home as he had promised her before his departure and from what she had learnt from Piers, he won't be returning any time soon.

The man she loved dearly was not only trapped in hospital but his memories had been held hostage by something unfathomable. He didn't remember anything about his current life, including all the memories they shared together. He had no recollection of the people he met or knew in his 39-year of life, as if they were just wiped off their existence.

It was as if Chris was a different person now, and even though she was in denial but in the back of her mind she knew that he was in fact a different man. He had become Reed now, at least that's what he strongly believe.

She let out a stressful sigh and her eyes burned at the thought of Reed's existence within the conscience of Chris. She knew in her heart that Reed's personality would turn out to be most problematic for her and she couldn't understand why would it surface like this, when everything when she was having the very complacent life with Chris.

Reed was a man, who deeply love Angelique, and that's what bothered Katarina the most about him. The hurt that caused her was indescribable and the more she thought about facing him the more it made her feel frustrated. She had struggled a lot to clear her name and to have the love story she wanted but it all seemed to be in vain.

She closed her eyes to the pain and remembered the only thing that brought her some solace; her 5-month old twin children and suddenly things didn't seem that much in vain, since she was able to live her dream and become a mother.

Chris might be away and had forgotten her but she still had two pieces of him in the form of their twin children: Christian and Melissa. For many years, she had been discredited to be able to conceive a baby then having twins was a distant thought. She had been blessed with two little bundles of joy and she couldn't have asked for more.

However, she couldn't help but feel sad for having so much and then losing everything in a blink of an eye. She couldn't help but think if her good time has come to an end and if she was meant to live this dream for such a short period of just three months.

This is the very place where it all began and maybe this will be the place, where everything will come to an end. She remembered the day she stepped back in his apartment and started living in the same house because she was pregnant. They shared the same roof but they were not together. It wasn't the reconciliation she wanted because even though she was back in his apartment, there was a long way back to his heart.

They couldn't just pick up their relationship right where they left it at being engaged, despite their one too many sexual "relapses", since that's what it was; nothing more and nothing less. After the mutual pleasure, they were back to being open to see and date other people.

Now that she thought about it, they were somewhat living by the rules Christopher Reed that he set for him and Katarina during the beginning of their marriage without even realizing it. Of course the circumstances were different but they somehow ended up mirroring the lives of the said couple.

The Mirror of Time.

And now that Reed had overtaken Chris's conscience, maybe they will have that rule in effect once again. She never took that liberty to get herself another man, since she had other priorities: her children and the life of motherhood. As for Chris, she never asked. She had found comfort in not knowing whether he enjoyed that freedom or not.

Maybe if it wasn't for her children then she would have made herself more available; much like the time she did when they had their break up and living apart.

Flashback

Early December 2011, Hanover, United States

It was a Friday night, more precisely December 9th, 2011, the day Kate was supposed to marry Chris Redfield if they were still together. If only he had not listened to her lying brother Vlad, they might have been already married and probably on their way to honeymoon, instead of her doing random chores around the house.

She finished her trivial work and prepared the usual dinner for her mother, who was still recovering from her accident and had started to walk a little, while the older woman sat in the living room watching television.

Kate's mother, Olga, noticed her daughter stepping into the living room after sometime fully dressed to go out. She didn't know why but her daughter had been somewhat distracted that evening and had been quite upset since the morning. She seemed restless and anxious about something, cursing anything and everything in sight and clinging to her cell phone like a bloodsucking parasite.

Kate didn't have to say it for Olga to know that the reason for her stress was none other than Chris Redfield. He was the only who could affect her daughter that way whether it was for good or bad.

As a mother, she didn't like seeing her child suffering this way. She had already been through a lot and gone through way too many deprivations, and now she had to deal with an ex like him. The once wonderful man was proving to be a son of a bitch! (in Kate's own words).

And to ail her motherly heart even more, the storm that her daughter was facing in her life was brought on by none other than her own brother, Vlad and that too intentionally. The young man knew about the damaged he had done, since he hadn't returned home after he had poisoned Chris against Katerina; not that he would be welcomed with open arms.

The older woman had watched her daughter cry for days and witnessed her unhealthy weight loss over her break up because the young woman absolutely refused to eat and if she ate something then ended up throwing it all up. Olga had never felt so much powerless to help her own child and the fact that she was confined to her bed most of the times, didn't exactly help the situation either.

It was only after Nicholas Kennedy stepped back in her life that she returned to being the beautiful and young brunette with green eyes. The more time they spent together each day the happier she seemed to be, even without those "relapses" according to Kate.

Olga remembered him to her daughter's first ever boyfriend and both she and her daughter were sad when the two broke up because Nick had been forced to move owing to his work because they really made a very good couple, despite their difference in ages, he was four years her senior.

Nicholas has always been helpful and strongly connected to their family. He was respectful to everyone and took special care of Kate, which pleased Olga very much about the young man. He has been always been her first choice for her daughter because she knew that she would be okay with him but destiny had different cards for them.

After Nicholas moved away and their break up, Kate made some extremely wrong decisions that showed her some real hell right until she met Chris, who pulled her out of everything. However, that didn't last too long either.

Olga knew that her daughter's heart was preoccupied with Chris but she really hoped that Nick could make conquer the fort once again and make her forget the ghost of the past Chris left behind. However, it was easier said than done, since her daughter was very stubborn and could not let go of the bone named Christopher Redfield so easily.

Kate stepped in front of her mother and the lady scanned her from head to toe. The young brunette was wearing a black dress that stuck to her body like a glue, drawing out all the girl's curves and neckline that valued her bust. She paired the dress with black pencil heels and a strong red color lipstick. Her curly hair were kept loose. She was dressed sexily and read to hunt and if it wasn't Nickolas, then it would definitely be someone else.

"Am I pretty?" she asked her mother with a smile.

"You look beautiful! This way Nick will get amazed with you, more than he already is! You're going out with him, are not you?"

Kate smirked, "That's the idea!"

"Why do not you go back with him, daughter? He is a great man and he brings the best in you…"

"Maybe I should really…", she replied not really considering her mother's words, "Even more after what the son of a bitch is doing!"

"What has he done?", her mother asked.

"Ah... he's playing house with his bland ex-fiancé!", she answered spitefully.

"How do you know?"

"I saw it! He posted a picture of their romantic dinner..."

"And you here crying waiting for him..."

"I stopped crying, mother! Chris wants to play tease, then he will get it! I'm going to play too, and yes, let's see who hurts more! I know he's just teasing me!", she told the older woman in aggressive determination.

"If she's already been his fiancé, maybe he's not provoking..."

"Ah, please! I know him! Chris hates to expose himself. His words are provocative!"

"Or did you just feel provoked by jealousy..."

Kate rolled her eyes irritably, "Provocation or not, today Nick is going to have the chance he's been waiting for... I'm tired of being the good-ass idiot who keeps watching shit happen and pass along! Tonight will be Nick's! Tomorrow I'll cry for regret ... or maybe I will not cry ... not regret it... Let's see what Nicholas 'Special' Kennedy has for me!" She said with a malicious grin.

She wished her mother goodbye, when she heard the horn of Nick's car. She seductively walked to his car and pulled open the car door. The woody scent of her perfumed wafted inside the car within a moment, as she sat down and closed the car door behind her.

The very next moment she turned in her seat and took the man by surprise by greeting him with a kiss on his lips, leaving a very noticeable mark of her lipstick on him. She smiled wickedly as their lips parted and her emerald eyes met his. He liked the way things were going and knew that Kate was ready to be his that night.

He started the engine and drove to a restaurant. He wanted to be romantic and play by the rules before going straight to the spot that was clearly available to him.

End of Flashback

Kate took a deep breath, returning to the present moment. She really thought that this year she and Chris could spend together Christmas and together like a family but everything separated them, or everything kept them apart. It was hard for her to love him without being together; to love without touching; to love without a fight. To love for love!

Love and passion for her towards Chris were inseparable and indistinguishable. She always suffered from his absence, which was physical at the moment but it was quite often mental and at times both.

Maybe she should not dwell so hard on reliving that pure, lost love of Christian and Katherine. It was a fact that they were no longer those people. Innocence had been lost. If they had ever being innocent...

It might not have been love, but a beautiful youthful illusion. They were very young and without love experiences. They met and fell in love. They were separated and thought it to be true love, at least she thought that way. And he kept insisting on every encounter they had over time, but he became increasingly distant and unrecognizable.

Maybe he had not loved her as much as she believed, since there were other people among them, especially Angelina. Kate felt both uncertain and confused wondering if it was her, who invaded their history and insisted on claiming his love for herself at any cost.

It wasn't this complicated with other men. Pierce / Piers had always been there and she always rejected him, or at least never gave him a real chance. Even Nicholas was there with her whenever she needed it. She gave up everything and offered it to Chris.

In the past Nicholas was Katarina's main informant and the only one besides Lucy who believed in her after the Arthena incident.

Flashback

The trip back to Baveen would have been extremely quiet, if it were not for the sounds of the carriage and the horses on the road. Christopher remained in complete silence the entire trip, and didn't even look at Katarina, as if she was not there.

After living so many years with her husband, Katarina learned to control the rhetorical urges, when he was in a bad mood because she knew he was deaf to anything that would contradict his verdict. He blamed her for the end of Arthena. He blamed her for the deaths of the inhabitants. He blamed her for all the loss.

He accused her of financing the Walker brothers' gruesome experiments. The friends and people close to him, took to his pains and allied themselves against her, even the people she had helped discredited her innocence. Everything and everyone was against her.

When they arrived at Baveen Castle, Christopher went to his bedchambers, and once again he did not act like a husband in practice. They talked only about the essential things and Katarina felt more and more lonely even though she was at home with her children and servants. But without Christopher it was like being without anything. She was growing tired of being in love for two.

One evening she was sitting on the bench on the balcony of her room when she was informed of Nicholas's visit. An unexpected visitor, because she thought he would not show up after what had happened.

"I am surprised by your visit. I thought you would go back to your wife and work for someone else, " she commented to the green-eyed man standing before her with a sad look.

"I'm not married and why would I work for someone else?"

"No one wants to stay near me since Arthena's incident… I thought you were married, since you mentioned having children..."

"You don't have to be married to have children, and I'm different from other people…"

She laughed, "It is true! I assumed wrongly about you, maybe because of your looks..."

"My looks?"

"Yes", she spoke with a slight nod, "You are a success with the girls, even with my ladies-in-waiting... They smile too much..."

"You also smile..."

"I always smile... that is what I was raised for..."

"I know that... Smiles also serve as masks. Pray to hide contraries. Pray to show affection."

"You are an observant man and it does not even seem so..."

He laughed, "So I find it funny you say that I look married, but I don't look observant."

"I would rather see you as married..."

"Why?"

She smiled at the thought of a quick answer, "Because so those who become your whores are my ladies... and not me..."

He laughed to ease his nervousness, wondering if Katarina was really flirting with him, "I'm single, there are no whores..."

"But I am married and would be seen as the whore... more than I am already considered one!" She laughed mocking herself.

"I don't see you as a whore"

She started twirling her finger in her hair and smirked, "Because you are not married to me... or maybe because you want me..."

Yes, she was flirting with him or maybe just testing him. He had heard about this side of her, when she was younger, "Quickly imagining the two options, I still don't see you as a whore."

"And how do you see me?"

"Do you really want my sincerity?"

"Of course! You seem to be one of the few men who speaks the truth, so I still keep you by my side! I trust your sincerity."

"I am flattered by your confidence and I would never break it, but I fear you will not like what I will say."

"Just tell me the truth, I will choose whether it hurts or not!"

He took a deep breath without losing the emerald look of the beautiful brunette staring at him with interest, "I see you as a beautiful butterfly attached to a cocoon next to a caterpillar that will never become a butterfly, because it is nothing more than a simple caterpillar... frustratingly waiting for a different species when all she needs is to fly..."

A loud chuckle and sigh came out of her lungs as she took in that comparison, but she did not lose the pose and mastery of her own emotions, "You are an intelligent man, more than an observer!" She laughed, "And it does not look! Are you a biologist or something?"

"No. I read everything a little."

"That was clear to me now! And you almost became a poet!"

"I'm sorry..."

"Do not apologize! Do not be regretful for being honest. You were not arrogant, so you do not have to apologize, not when it was me who actually asked for your opinion"

"I'm just putting myself in my place, ma'am... you're the sovereign..."

"So sovereign... no subjects... they are all against me."

"Everyone but me," he said with conviction.

Katarina's lips parted in awe with the warmth of those words, and for a second the beautiful girl lost control of her emotions, of the pose, and allowed the beautiful observer to notice the pain and bitterness that tormented her. The incarcerating solitude that she had been forced to live through.

"Nick..." she whispered and quickly took the pose as she recognized the male voice in the door behind her, and noticed the fright on her informant's face as she realized the presence of Christopher staring at them with an unfriendly face.

"I didn't know you were with your lover," he said in a tone of disdain.

Katarina stood up imposingly as if preparing for war, "He is not my lover."

"Informant I meant..."

Nicholas bowed his head in respect of the couple's authority, and also because he was embarrassed with Christopher's remarkable expression of jealousy, "Excuse me, I'm going to retreat..."

"Wait for me in the library, we have not finished talking yet" Katarina replied facing her husband who had turned his back and leaned on the balcony railing.

"You'd better not leave your lover waiting. Go after him and finish talking. I can wait"

"I already told you he is not my lover!"

"Yet..."

She laughed scornfully, "The day I go after him and talk; it will not be for him to be my lover, but my husband!"

"To be a husband, you have to be single. You are married!"

"Am I? With whom? Maybe my husband is me!"

"Enough! It's impossible to try to dialogue with you!"

"Dialogue? You? You do not know how to dialogue! You are the one who came in spouting such absurdness!"

"Absurd? Absurd is a married woman receiving a man in her bedchambers!"

"You did it several times when we courted!" She commented wryly.

"Exactly! We were courting! You're a married woman now!"

"Am I really? Where is my husband? He leaves and returns the time he wants. He goes wherever he wants, with whomever he wants. He sleeps in a separate bedchamber. Neither fulfills the practices of husband..."

"Maybe he doesn't have to as his independent woman knows how to do it alone or with whom she wants, as long as it's not in His house!"

"His house?"

"Yes, My house! You can say whatever you want about me Katarina, you can name any mistress, but one thing you cannot talk about me is one. None of them were in Our house or in Our bed!"

She giggled, "There are controversies..."

"If it happened you were together and gave permission... every time! So don't come with this game against me! I've never brought anyone to Our nest!"

She shrugged, "Neither have I... You, admittedly unfaithful, are the one who is seeing things where there are not, for you are the unfaithful part of the relationship, not me!"

"If you gave it to him or not, I don't care ... Just don't do it here" he almost yelled

"Maybe I should really give it to him, and right here. There in your bed! Just so you can feel what I feel!"

He looked very serious, "You dare not even think about it, Katarina, and may this be the only time you spoke and thought that! If I hear anything like that, I'll kill him! And you too!"

A delightful smile spread across Katarina's face at his threat, since she didn't see it as a threat but a proof of jealousy. A proof of love, because one does not feel jealousy without love; that was her logic. And despite everything Christopher had always been sincere with his attitudes and admitting his infidelities.

Christopher was starting to get out of his cave that he needed from time to time and she needed him. Jealousy or not, she needed him; his love, and perhaps even of his hatred, all but his indifference. For indifference was the true absence of love.

Time showed what happened to them. Time proved who they were and what they felt. But now the time reflected another side of them.

End of Flashback

Kate had read all of Katarina's diaries to the point that she practically knew them all by heart. She knew their whole story by heart. She knew that despite the mutual attraction, the flirtation episode with Nicholas never went away, and some time later Nicholas simply disappeared and Katarina never heard of him again.

Katarina never had the guts to betray Christopher, except with Pierce years after that event. However, even the betrayal with Pierce proved to be another move by Katarina. After reading her diaries, Kate confirmed that Katarina knew of Christopher's plans and his suspicions about her.

Of course she had noticed his strange behavior. Katarina knew him as well as he knew himself! Katarina knew his shadow! And Nicholas's disappearance always intrigued her and maybe she could use Pierce to find out something, and that's what she did. But she did not get the success she hoped for. Time proved it.

After Nicholas reappeared in her life during her and Chris's separation in the current time, and the confusion and misgivings she felt, she finally took the courage to read Christopher's diaries. But a slow reading, unlike when she read those of Katarina. Reading Christopher's secrets was far more tormenting for her. And the pregnancy and events of that year of 2012 also contributed to that postpone.

Had Christopher ordered the rival to be killed?

About shadows Katarina understood and she and Christopher had many things in common. Many aspects in common; including some of the darkness.

It was still intriguing for Christopher to have forgiven Katarina so easily after she had nearly killed Cathlyn. He stayed at his wife's side. Even after some debate or other about her conduct, deep down, he seemed to understand her. He seemed to understand her fury.

Was it because he had felt the same for Nicholas?

Strangely, the past, even though it was there before them under concrete evidence, still seemed to conceal many things, and possessed many facets and nuances.

Should Kate keep digging the past? Was she ready for possible revelations? Should she have chosen Nicholas instead of Chris? So many questions and one more pertinent: why did Chris wake up just thinking he was the guy he always disowned?

Anyway with or without the past, one thing was certain that she and Chris were inseparable under any storm. Something always joined them, may it be stubbornness or children or love and hate. There was always a connection.

Why?

Why did they end up together even when everything seemingly fails?

Was love really a battlefield like in that old song from Pat Benatar?

Thank you McTamale for the review! And special thanks to JennaWilliams for the enhancement.

Tell me your thoughts on the chapter so I can improve on the next ones.

Stay Tuned!