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.

Efret, Dora's Bar

"The stray dog" that was how the locals in Efret were calling Chris, some even dare to call him the stray bear from the looks of him, fully beard, messy hair and always smelling of booze and cigarettes, usually grumpy when he wasn't at his worst and acting rudely towards anyone who approached him.
He "loved" his loneliness and he hated when people tried to take him out of that, that's why he usually reacted without good manners. He just wanted to "enjoy" his lonesome as he struggled in dealing with recurring memories at different times.

As the usual he was sitting alone at the bar stool at the counter drinking sips of whiskey as he stared at the medallion on his hand. According to his memories that was a gift his girlfriend Kate had given him before he went on a mission as a way of her to be close to him during their distance. Now that medallion was his reminder there was someone home waiting for him, wherever his home was.

However, the more he made efforts to recollect his own identity the more he recalled how "bad" his life used to be. He wasn't happy. He was usually tired of fighting, but fighting for what?
As per his twisted memories he wasn't the family man type. His life was based on home-work-work-home, but it felt more like work-work-work. He didn't have a break. He didn't have time for friends, much less for family matters, reason why he preferred to stay single and childless.
But that lonely and empty routine changed when he met Kate, a dark-haired and green eyed young woman of gypsy personality. she was always smiling and restless. She loved to party and her extroverted charisma made her be the center of attention wherever she went at work. She didn't mind though. She loved the attention, especially the male attention.
At that time he was in a relationship with Cathy White, so he tried his best not to pay much attention to the rookie receptionist and the comments of coworkers about her beauty.
He wasn't blind. He agreed she was beautiful and smelled good.
He recalled the very first time he saw her when he accompanied her to the Human Resources cabin so she could leave her resume for the new vacancies for the reception. At the elevator he smelt the fragrance of her perfume. He never forgot it.
He also never forgot how green her eyes were as they exchanged some gazes, though he tried to avoid eye contact with her so he couldn't get infatuated with her beauty.
Useless. Soon after she started working at the entrance reception. Her communicative way, he politeness and remarkable presence stood out aside from her enhanced beauty due to the makeup, and opposite to the other female coworkers, Kate costumized her uniform so it could fit perfectly on her body and enhance her curves. She didn't mind being looked at.
Secretly he observed her. From afar he saw her and as he neared her he disguised he had barely seen her, after all, he had a relationship to respect publicly.
Though, all his efforts to keep her out of his thoughts and his eyes sight were in vain. The more he tried to avoid the more she seemed to be a constant presence.
The more he denied the attraction he felt, the closer he wanted to be with her until the point he unconsciously flirted with her and then he put up his guard again which caused confusing signs about his true inner intents.

As days progressed he and Kate became closer and closer, especially when she started working with him as his personal secretary. The more he got to know her, the more cherished he became for her. The more they spent their time together, the more he cared for her. Progressively he realized she was more than the gossipers used to talk about her. She was more than just a pretty girl. She was more than a sexy young woman. She was smart, she was fun, she was passionate, she was free.
As they grew closer, the more he enjoyed her presence.
And it all started with a coffee break, then snack at the office, and then home rides until the point he gave her shelter at his own house. At that point he was already lost in his own feelings and thoughts.

Chris lighted up another cigarette as he recalled a conversation with a blue-eyed brunette woman.

Flashback

"So you ended up calling her to live with you?" the woman asked raising an eyebrow after a grin

"I didn't call her to "live" with me...it's just a two-week sheltering..."

"You'll "live" together for two weeks..."

"Well...not together, together...but at the same place"

"Your place"

"Yeah, my place...but she at the guest-room...she's just a guest"

"That's what you want to believe..."

"It's not what I believe, it's the truth"

"The truth you chose to believe"

"Come on Jill! Why are you questioning me like that? I don't do that to you and that "boyfriend" of yours...hum...boyfriend is what you call, right?" he spoke with a shrug

She laughed, "Spite is not your thing, Chris...my relationship with my so called "boyfriend" is not what is in question here..."

"I feel questioned by you...by everyone! Why do I feel like it's a mistake I have made for helping a friend?"

"It's a mistake helping a friend"

"So why am I being questioned for helping Kate?"

"Exactly! It's Kate we're talking about...Kate, the troublemaker"

"She's not a troublemaker!"

"I know"

"So why am I being judged? I feel everyone's eyes on me and I can get it...but you? You know me for years! You, Claire and Barry are the only family I have. You guys never questioned my decisions about my relationships. You never judged my girlfriends. The max I heard was about the age difference between me and Laura, but that I can get the judgement...though...I don't understand why are you so hard on Kate? You don't even know her! Claire was already judgemental about her without even getting to know who Kate really is...Is it jealous or something?"

The brunette inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh as she stared at him with a calm demeanor, "Do you even listen to yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"You vent it out, which is a good thing, but I still don't see you listening to yourself"

"I'm not following Jill"

"I can't speak for Claire or Barry, but I have no reason to be jealous at you, but for knowing you for so long and as a friend I can tell you don't listen to yourself when the subject is Kate. You have been mirroring from external people, when you should be more attentive to yourself, to your feelings...I know you are a reactional guy and that's the real point of all this conversation. The others and Kate are not the "problem" here, but what you choose to do about your reactions that are the result of your feelings...You're in denial"

"Denial? What kind of denial do you think I am as you know me so well?"

With a calm composure and a soft tone the woman replied after a pause, "Kate's role in your life..."

End of Flashback

Blowing the smoke in the air and taking a long sip of the whiskey, Chris moved his foot as he frowned with a thoughtful expression as another flashback of memory filled his mind. A moment of a conversation with a beardy man.

Flashback

"The pretty girl quits and you stay here feeling miserable just because she left and you did nothing to stop her?"

"She lied to me"

"So why are you crying over her?"

"I'm not crying..."

"No? So why is this place smelling like shit of cigarettes and alcohol? Have you looked in the mirror? You look like shit! You don't go to work, you don't answer your phone. You get your family worried. Claire got me so damn worried that it made me leave the comfort of my home, take a shit flight and put the damn door of this place and find shitty Redfield on the couch, pouring bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, staring at the engagement ring his liar girlfriend left... That's a scene I never expected from you, son!"

"I'm not your son"

"Fine, now you're throwing your shit on me, fine, I can deal with that. Go on!"

"I didn't ask you to leave the comfort of your family at cozy Canada! Go back to them and leave me alone!"

"Go on..."

"I don't want you here!"

"I know. You want Kate"

"Don't mention that name!" he yelled loud, "You don't even know the bitch!"

"But I can see the shit made"

"Why do you even care?"

"Chris...I know you since you were a little innocent boy. I saw you and your sister grow. You've been like a son to me since you were 16! I've witnessed you being doomed several times, but I never, ever, saw you ruined and miserable like this! I never saw you pitying yourself like that! I never thought a woman could make a man like you cry over like a little spoiled brat!"

"I'm not..." he yelled starting to sob, "She lied to me...she only used me..."

"Didn't you do the same, Chris?" the man spoke with a calm but firm tone

"What? I never..."

"It's not what I recall from the talk we had about the first nightstand you had with her. She was drunk, you had sex with her, she got amnesia and you told her no sex happened... It's easier to forget only our actions, isn't it?"

Chris looked away bothered about the memory and swallowed in distress, "It's different"

"Ah, so lying and using her that night is the less of a lie?"

"It was only a night, she lied and used me for months!"

"So that's your way to justify yourself? I thought liying and using have the same weight on both ends...I wonder what she'd say if she learned the truth you hid from her so you could feel better for not having to give an explanation of why you weren't fully honest with her"

"She started it all!"

"Now you're the victim...again?"

"You know...I don't think she would mind to know that I wanted to bang her all the long...more days or less days that was bound to happen anyways!"

"Yeah, and you chose the day she was the most vulnerable, huh?"

"I didn't choose it! We were both on the booze. She wanted to give it, I wanted to take it"

"And you took it and then you didn't admit it! Chris...I'm sorry for my words now, but, we are both former cops, we are people who have seen the worst of human kind...if Kate were my daugther...you'd be in jail! In my book your shit on her has a name: rape!"

Chris looked down with a remorseful expression. He felt the weight of those words. 4 words: rape. (This part edit out from FF, but keep on Reboot)

4 words: fear.
4 words: love.
He and Kate ommitted important events out of those 2 reasons, mostly, fear.

The day after their first nighstand he did fear her judgement about him. He didn't want her to think the worst of him, after all, in his memory everything they did was consensual, but he couldn't be sure she was going to think the same if she learned the truth and blame on him for taking advantage of her vulnerable state of mind.
However there was a dark past of him that he also wanted to omit even from himself: his internal dispute out of jealous.
In silence, every time he saw or heard about Kate and Piers, he had to struggle with his thoughts and the primal male dispute between him and the younger soldier.
Obviously he did care about Piers, he trusted him as a soldier. If not, he wouldn't be training him to succeed him in the battlefield.
He did respect Piers's conquests, his focus, his personality. The younger soldier even reminded him of himself when he was at his age. No fake feelings towards the second-in-command.
The twist in Chris' thoughts started after the first day at the main reception when they met Kate when she applied for the job vacancy.

Piers was already infatuated with her as for had seen her priorly, but seen the stunning young brunette who had shaken Piers's grounds had another impact on the more experienced man.
Chris Redfield wasn't the type to have his base shaken by a female presence. He never lost focus during after flirts from outrageous females - especially on the field. He wasn't so easy to catch. He already had the experience to know all the trouble women could make in a man's innocent heart. Though, he lost that innocence long ago...
Chris Redfield was grounded tight if he really wanted to. Unreachable if he really wanted to. But that only got him lonely. His type of life didn't really allow him to balance it better which usually caused him often internal questioning of his future. For the way things were, he only saw a dark future. A dark, lonely and silent future at home.
As a rock, he didn't expose his emotions so naturally, much less so openly. Very few people had had the privilege to see his softer side.
At work he was the grounded and brave man. Caring and protective for his mates, but still, like a rock on the outside.
At home he tended to try to keep everything under control and only allowing some proximity by others only at few occasions. It was easier to keep control when there were no other disturbances such as: wife and children.
But that solitary routine started to change when he fell for Cathy White, though it still was easier to keep the silent routine as for her job being the same as his, so usually they remained separated by it.
However, all that boring balance was shaken when that young beautiful brunette was the talk of work. She wasn't the type to pass unnoticed and people seemed to enjoy talking about her vivid spirit.
In silence and at distance he observed her. In silence at home he thought about her. That wasn't right. He had a public commitment to be loyal, but there was a price for that loyalty, to cheat himself in order to keep under control.
Though he wasnt't the type who enjoyed being the target, he preferred to be the hunter.
He was used to getting female attention, but his preference were those type who played hard.
He was a hunter and he liked to feel the thrill of the catch, and he had the patience to play that kind of "game".
And that was one of the differences between him and Piers: timing.
Piers was all on the heels of the beautiful enchanting brunette who had a hunter spirit just like Chris himself...
Initially, Kate was all nice with Chris (and everyone, being nice was her natural trait), but she didn't give a fuck at him. She didn't try to catch his attention (she didn't have to, he was all eyes on her consciously or not), but she didn't reject him when they were close. She didn't try to seduce him, but she didn't ignore his flirts (the memories at the locker room and at the pool were a proof of their delicious game). She was young in age, but with the experience of a vivid woman.

So at the night of the festival, innertly Chris disputed with Piers for Kate's satisfaction. He knew Piers had feelings for her, but he lacked knowing how to play Kate's game. However, he wasn't as young as his second in command, though he had the experience to know Kate's real deal. He had observed her long enough!
So when there were just the two of them in that room, he wanted to prove himself he could older, though he could still give what Kate really wanted and even more. A childish, but a common silent male dispute over a female attention.
So he released the "beast" he always kept under control and did everything he normally wouldn't do, though when all the wildness had faded there came a gush of guilty when he saw all the marks he had left on the female's body who slept soundly, completely satisfied.
What a moron he had been! How could've had him forgotten her white skin?! Those marks were only the beginning of the traces left of a wild night.
He was aware that she would want more than he could give when she woke up and realized what they had done (if there was any trace of memory after so much booze).
He wasn't ready to give her even after knowing she had given her all to him so freely, so fearlessly, so passionately. So he walked away, praying that that lascivious night would remain untouched. Out of shame, out of remorse, out of fear.

End of Flashback

After Barry's sudden visit, Chris knew the man he had like a father-figure wouldn't walk away without completing his purpose: to make him react out of his shit.
There was about a month and a half since Kate had left him after a small fight.
Now as he pondered about their situation, it felt like they separated for the wrong reasons, but back in the day the reasons to quit seemed plausible, after all, there were lies and the lack of trust from both parties.

"Is it all just because of sex?" he wondered as he took another sip of whiskey and smoked another cigarette as he recalled that even when they didn't have any interaction he couldn't stop thinking about her

No, it wasn't. It definitely started with a physical attraction but whenever I think of her what comes to my mind is the cherishing moments we spent together, her smile, her joy, her company. I missed that back then, I miss her now.
More and more I recall what we lived together, though more and more I question if I deserve all that love she has given me...

He emptied his whiskey glass and rose off the bar stool. In a rare act, he left money banknotes on the bar counter to pay for his booze that day, then he left the bar ignoring the surprised young female bartender who secretely had a crush on him (though not corresponded) and happened to be the daughter of the owner of the bar.

Chris headed to the hostel he was staying in and took a bag with the few belongings he had and the fake documents he used so far and left to the harbor where he took a ship with destination to Bohma.