Chapter Three:



"So, he'll be staying with you for HOW long?" Chris asked her as he poured himself some coffee. Claire looked down into
her cup of tea and traced her index finger along the brim of the cup.
"Only until he gets settled." She replied taking a tiny sip.
"And Steve... is OKAY with all of that?" Chris asked again as he sat down across from her.
"Yes. He's very okay with the idea." Claire said, lying through her teeth. She took another sip and saw Chris glaring at her over
her cup. "Oh, all right, he's not too okay about it. But he already agreed and he's just going to have to deal with it."
"Ooh, how catty." Chris teased. "You never hear Cinderella talking about her Prince Charming like that."
Deciding to ignore that remark, she polished off her tea and stood up. "So, how are you and Rebecca doing?" She headed
towards the dish washer. "Have you gotten her knocked up to your liking yet?" She asked in Rebecca's high, bouncy voice.
"I'm not sure." Chris said as he opened up the newspaper. "We don't really bother to take precautions."
"Fabulous. I'm anxious to see the result of that in a few months." Claire said sarcastically, slipping her cup into the dish rack and
shutting the door.
"Hey, I arrested this guy last night!" Chris exclaimed, pointing at a small section at the police blotter page.
Claire peered closely at the small sentence that Chris was indicating. "You must feel so proud. Arresting a priest who was on
his way to say a prayer over some dying man's hospital bed."
"The law halts for no one." Chris said sanctimoniously. "Although I've had to make exceptions for all those times that bastard hit
you."
Claire rolled her eyes and sat back down. "Did you come all the way here to patronize me?"
"No. Hell no. God...no. Claire," He said remorsefully. "...I came here to visit you. You're my sister. I came because I wanted
to see you. I haven't been able to talk to you like I used to for a long time."
Tensing, she stared at him closely for a moment. "What are you saying? We talk."
"Yeah, but you hold back." Chris said. "You're tense and sad and depressed and you don't talk about what's bothering you."
"Chris..." She paused, her nose was beginning to sting. She wanted to just fall into his brotherly arms and cry her heart out. Tell
him everything. Every little pain and misery that flowed through her veins. But she just couldn't. "Can we just not talk about
this right now?"
"Then when?" Chris pressed on.
"Just...not right now." Claire replied.
Footsteps sounded from outside and the door opened and Leon walked in.
"Afternoon all." He said as he shook his coat off his shoulders. "It's getting chilly out there. Hey Chris."
"Hey Leon," Chris said as he drank up his coffee. "How are you doing?"
"Good, good. I just came back from an interview." Leon said.
"Oh really, what for?" Chris asked.
"Just something that I've been looking into for a while." Leon replied. "Is that coffee?"
"No, prune juice." Chris replied. "No, it is coffee."
"You haven't changed a bit have you Redfield?" Leon joked as they talked for a little bit.
Claire felt relief flood through her and she sat down. She wouldn't have to face her brother until his next visit. Which was good,
she supposed.
"I'm not so sure about going back into law enforcement. At least not with the police department. Maybe with the FBI." Leon
told Chris as he filled him in on all the things that had been going on in his career.
"Too many memories, huh?" Chris asked. "I know what you mean. But you know, life goes on. I guess I realized that so it wasn't
too bad when I came back. At least I didn't see Umbrella where ever I turned."
Claire twisted around to look at Chris sharply. What was he implying? It took a second for her to realize that he wasn't even
talking to her. She hadn't been following their conversation too carefully, but anything and everything that had to do with Umbrella
caught her attention. Yes, even now. She just never found it in her heart to let it go. Maybe because everywhere she turned she
saw a little bit of Umbrella in her own home. Steve was so bitter and domineering it made him seem no better than any of those
despicable, power-hungry monsters. Time and time again Claire found herself wanting to strangle him but then quickly reminding
herself that Steve HAD lost his entire family to the corporation, she had to be patient. But for how long?


Claire laid still in her bed, paralyzed with dread. Beside her, Steve lay, breathing deep and heavily. Slowly, almost moving an
inch at a time, Claire turned onto her side. Her muscles ached something terrible as she did so. Steve had come home that night
fairly sober and obviously in a very...excited mood. Claire shivered and trembled as she picked up the condom Steve had used
and then tossed it quickly into the waist basket. Swallowing hard, she slipped out of bed and into her bathrobe.
Walking to the door was a chore. Almost as hard as pulling one-hundred and twenty pounds of dead weight up Mount
Everest. Steve had used every part of her that night in the most degrading and humiliating ways. He was the king of inflicting
pain and harboring un-realistic demands. Trying desperately to push those thoughts away, she entered the quiet hallway. She
was sure Leon was sleeping, so she could slip into the bathroom to clean herself up without too many questions.
Closing the door behind her, she turned the water in the tub on. A warm bath was what she needed right now. She reached
to the shelf across from the toilet and turned on some light meditation music. The sounds of a Forte piano filled the small space
and Claire hurried to lower it down. She set the volume to a pitch above a whisper and then added some soothing bubbles to
the tub as it gathered water.
Once the tub was full and foamy, she took her robe off and eased herself into it. The warm water was soothing but still not
enough to completely remove the terrible pain she felt shooting through her back, legs and pelvic area. The music switched to
a powerful Bach tune and Claire felt the uncried tears fall down her cheeks. Relieved to be free, they fell, one after another until
they nearly overflowed the bathtub. Finally, she ran out of tears, she just sat in silence, sniffling and coughing violently from all
the crying she had done.
Suddenly, the door flew open and Leon appeared in the doorway. Claire's eyes widened in shock and then hurried to cover
her breasts which were just visible in the sea of bubbles.
"Oh freak, I'm so sorry!" Leon exclaimed as he jerked around so fast Claire thought he would trip one foot over the other.
Even though he was facing away from her, he held his hand to his eyes and looked down as he felt for the door to close it. "God,
Claire, I'm sorry--I'm so sorry! I'll just...I'll just close this." He said awkwardly as he slammed it a little harder than necessarily.
Claire felt the redness subside from her cheeks and replaced with a soft blush. Steve had seen her naked enough times so he
barely gave modesty and embarrassment a second thought. She quickly got out and slipped into her robe. Draining the tub, she
headed back to the bedroom. Pausing outside, she peered carefully into the living room. Leon was sitting on the couch, his elbows
on his knees, his hands clasped loosely and held just below his chin. He was staring off into space, his mortification still very
evident in his face, but also something different on his face. Before Claire could dwell on it too long, she shut herself up in her
room.