New Horizons, XX
By: Hotaru

Warnings: Steve bashing, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring spoilers too.

~^~

Cracking his knuckles, Chris read the final line and sighed. "I'm done, you guys." He announced.
"Finally. Can we read it now?" Claire asked, turning to look over the back of the couch.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm gonna have something to eat."
"The bacon's been sitting out on the counter forever. You might want to heat it up if that's what you're gonna have." Leon interrupted as Claire ran over to the computer.

"Thanks." Chris said, heading into the kitchen. Claire and Leon stood over the computer, reading, and "aww"-ing and the likes. Chris sat, eating a sandwich in the kitchen feeling totally embarassed.

"You slept with her!?!" A voice erupted from the living room. Cringing, Chris started a long, slow drink from his cup of water. Claire charged into the kitchen and pointed and accusing finger at her brother. "I can't believe you!" She screamed.
"Shut up! Do you want the whole neighborhood to hear you!?" Chris hissed.
"No, but you have some explaining to do, mister." She sat down across from him, and rested her chin on her folded hands. "Well?"
"Well, what? So I slept with her. Big deal."
"Yes, big deal indeed. She seemed to enjoy it quite a bit."
"Good for her. And, how exactly is it any of your business?"

Claire raised her eye brows. "I'm your sister, Chris. You're supposed to tell me these things." She replied.
"Oh, well, I had no idea I was supposed to inform you of all my sexual encounters." Chris said stoically.
"Hey, Claire, maybe you ought to leave him alone." Leon interrupted.
"Aw, but I'm just having some fun." Claire pouted.
"Speaking of relationships, why don't you tell Chris here what you called me this morning."

Blushing a reddish pink, Claire excused herself and ran away. "What was that all about?" Chris asked.
"Nothing important. She just called me her boyfriend when dealing with the adoption agency." Leon replied casually.
"Oh is that so? What'd she say after that?"
"Nothing really."
"No?"
"No."
"Hm."
"Yeah."

Eventually, they decided to play Super Smash Brothers Melee, and were battling it out when Claire finally came down. "Were you in hiding all that time?" Chris asked, not looking away from the t.v.
"No, I took a shower and straightened out my room. Why?" Claire replied.
"You're not supposed to leave two guys alone for that long. Haven't you seen that episode of The Simpsons where Homer and Mr. Burns make their snowman army after being buried in an avalanche?"
"Yes, I saw the episode. I just didn't think you guys were that senile."
"Well, you were wrong." Leon said with a smile, as Kirby was sent flying out of the arena. "I win." he announced.

The three sat in silence for awhile, before Leon voiced his boredom. "Why don't we do something? This is my day off, and I don't want to spend it doing nothing."
"We can go to the movies." Claire offered. She was doing anything and everything to keep from having the paint and move furniture.
"To see what?" Chris asked.
"The Two Towers, genius. It's already been out for a few weeks, and we still haven't seen it."
"Oh. I didn't realize you didn't get your weekly dose of Legolas recently."
"Shut up, Chris! You know you think Arwen's hot."
"Do not!"
"Why don't we go, then? Call up the theatre to get the times, and go. You two and your constant bickering!" Leon interrupted.

Claire and Chris stiffled their giggles momentarily. "I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face, so I'm gonna go get ready. Make sure that we're not too late for the next showing." Leon said calmly, heading upstairs.
"I'll call the theatre I guess." Claire said, hopping up from the couch.
"I'll...stand around and pretend like I'm doing something." Chris replied with a grin.
"You always were so good at that...alright, the next showing's at one. We can make it if we run...what's that from?"*
"Uh..."

Leon galloped down the stairs, his hair settling perfectly against his head. "Well?" He questioned.
"One o'clock. We gotta hurry though." Claire reported.
"Cool. Wanna bring snacks or anything?"
"Uh...I guess. There's nothing really to bring, but we've got some soda and stuff. Let me go get a bag. You guys can go head out to the car if you want." Claire said, heading to get an old school bag she used to treasure. Stufing the soda, and some pretzels and crackers with processed cheese in the bag, she ran outside. When the finally got to the theatre, she and Chris hopped out while Leon, and the bag went to find a parking spot. Needless to say, the bag never made it inside the theater.**
~^~

Later that night, Claire decided to make cookies, and Leon and Chris were left to their own devices. The phone rang after awhile, so Chris went to get it.

"Yeah?"
"Hey stranger."
"Jill?"
"The one and only."

Chris resisted the urge to hop up and down with excitement. "So uh...I take it you read my e-mail."
"Yeah...I replied to it, but I haven't got anything back yet." Jill answered. Chris thought back a few hours, and realized that once he was finished, he let Claire and Leon read it. Of course, he couldn't tell Jill that.
"Oh, that's right. I was gonna write back but then Claire needed me or something. Sorry."
"It's ok. So how are things over there?"
"Good. We just got back from seeing the Two Towers a little while ago."
"Aw, was it good?"
"Awesome. The best movie I've ever seen."

"Really? Wow. I better go see it then. Chris Redfield is not easily impressed." Jill said with a laugh.
"Yeah. Did you see the first one?" Chris asked.
"Of course. That's the first time I cried in a movie theatre for a long time."
"What'd you cry for?"
"Why do you think!? Gandalf and Boromir died."
"Oh. Well, whenever you get back here we can go see it again."
"Really? That'd be nice."
"So how's work going? Have you guys gotten any results, with the virus or vaccine or anything?"
"Nothing yet. Tests are still being run to see if the serum can be used for the T- or G-Viruses. They were all pretty worried when I brought the virus in though."
"Yeah, you didn't have a vaccine for it."

"Speaking of which...Barry mentioned what we're going to do if another package arrives at your house." Jill said slowly. Chris pulled a chair over to the corded phone and sat down.
"Yeah..what about it?" He asked.
"Well...we'd need to get it here as fast as possible, in case something went wrong with the virus. And more testing to figure out how to make our own serums--"
"Jill, get to the point."
"Right. He wanted to send Rebecca back...instead of me."
"What?!"

Claire dropped an egg due to Chris' sudden exclamation. Leon appeared from the living room, looking puzzled. Chris waved them away, and tried to focus.
"That's not fair, Jill. This is _your_ case. You found it, and you should work on it." He said.
"I know, but since she's the medic...he thinks she should go."
"Why? Because of protocol? Fuck protocol! What would she do differently than you?"
"I don't know, Chris, so stop getting so pissed off at me! If you're so upset about this, take it out on Barry, not me!"

Growling, Chris threw the phone to the side, causing Claire to spill flour all over the counter. "Dammit, Chris! What the hell?!" She exclamed, bringing the phone back to the receiver.
"Nothing." Chris muttered, disappearing to his room. Claire eyed her brother before hanging up the phone. Leon patted her back and stole some cookie dough.

"Don't worry about him. They'll sort things out." He said comfortingly.
"Yeah. I just wish he would open up a little! I hate being left in the dark." Claire replied.
"I'm sure he's embarassed to talk to you or something. Don't worry about it."
"Yeah."

~^~

Chris lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. A cold breeze blew through his window, causing him to shiver. Sighing, he leaned over and to close the window. Glancing outside, he caught a glimpse of someone or something. Peering closer, he realized it was a person. Holding his breath, he moved away from the window and grabbed his gun. He went downstairs, and into the kitchen.

"There's someone out front, I'm gonna go check it out. You guys stay here, but keep your ears open." He said quickly. Claire and Leon eyed each other nervously as he went to the front door. "Be careful!" Claire whispered.

Opening the front door, Chris stepped outside and pretending like he just needed fresh air. His trained eyes scanned the yard; the area by the tree more specifically. Sighing, he walked down the walkway, picked up some garbage from the lawn and slowly made his way toward the tree. "Don't move." He ordered, pulling out his gun. The person's shadow stayed still, arms raised defensivly. "Who are you?" he asked.
"An old...associate of Mr. Kennedy's. I have a message for him and his girl friend." A woman's voice replied.
"My sister? What is it you have to say?"
"Just tell them to be careful. You're getting in way over your heads."
"What?! What does that mean? Who are you?"

In one fluid, water-like motion, Chris was on the floor. "That doesn't matter..Sayonara." Chris remained on the floor for awhile, before clutching his head. "Son of a bitch.." Sitting up, he coughed and searched around for his gun. He found it at the base of the tree. Standing up shakily, he looked around. The mystery person was no where in sighed. Grumbling, he went inside to an eagerly waiting Claire and Leon.

"Chris? What happened, where'd you go?" Claire asked, running over to her brother.
"No where. I was out front, by the tree." Chris replied.
"You're bleeding! What happened!?"

Leon went to get a first aid kit, and Claire led Chris into the kitchen. "This woman...I don't know who she was, I couldn't see her face. But all's she said was to be careful and that we're getting in over our heads. When I asked who she was, she hit me with something." Chris answered.
"Could it have been someone from Umbrella?" Claire asked nervously.
"Who's doin' what now?" Leon questioned, finally appearing.
"Someone told Chris to tell us to be careful, and that we're in over our heads! And then he got hit!" Claire exclaimed.
"Who was it?" Leon asked.
"I don't know. I asked, twice, but the second time she hit me. I didn't recognize her voice or anything." Chris replied.
"Shit. Well it could have been anyone! But if they were from Umbrella, why would they warn us?" Leon questioned.

Claire bit her lip. "Maybe you should call up your friends in Europe and tell them about this, Chris." She said slowly.
"No." Chris answered defiantly.
"Chris! Come on, they should know what's going on in case anything happens."
"Well then you call. I'm pissed off at them."
"Chris, you know them the best out of all of us. The only person I really know is Jill."
"Then talk to Jill. What do you want me to say, Claire?"

Sighing, Claire punched his shoulder and went into the kitchen. "You don't get any cookies, then, wiseguy." She called, pulling the tray out of the oven.
"Whoopty-fucking-do." Chris retorted.
"Hold still." Leon said, pushing Chris' head forward so he could tend to his wound. "It's a small laceration. I don't think you'll need stitches or anything."

Chris remained still while Leon patched him up, and he then went back to his room to hide.

"Who do you think it could have been?" Claire asked.
"Hm...it couldn't have been Ada..she died back in Raccoon. What about Birkin's wife?" Leon suggested.
"She died, too. It couldn't have been Sherry. She's staying with Barry's family, right?" Leon nodded and grabbed a cookie. "Well, we all thought Wesker was dead, and he showed up in Antarctica, so I guess anything's possible."
"The idea of people coming back from the dead doesn't strike a good chord with me. We can't be certain of anything anymore."

"Well...I guess I should give Jill a call anyway. Maybe she'd be more inclined to come down if she knew this was going on." Claire said, reaching for the phone.
"You really like picking on each other, don't you?" Leon said with a smirk.
"Of course, but I'm being serious for once. We don't want to get in over our heads here."
"What ever you say, dear."

Rolling her eyes, Claire dialed in the number for Jill's place and waited. "I hate international calls." She murmured, waiting for someone to pick up.
"Hello?" It was a voice Claire didn't recognize.
"Ah, hi. This is Claire Redfield, Chris' sister? Can you put Jill on the phone, please?"
"...sure, just a sec." There were muffled voices briefly before Jill finally came on the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked.
"We've got bad news." Claire answered.
"Why, what happened?"
"Chris saw someone outside, and when he went out there, they said to be careful, and that we're getting in over our heads. And then, she hit him."
"She? Who's she?"
"The person outside. It was a she."
"Oh. Is he...okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. Well, he's not fine, but in the aspect of getting hit, he is."
"You just confused the hell out of me."

Sighing, Claire looked into the hall to see if Chris was coming downstairs. "He's upset about something that happened between you two. I wanted him to call, but he refused." She said.
"Oh...that. Well...what do you want me to do?" Jill asked.
"I'm not sure. Just talk to everyone over there, and is possible, maybe you _and_ Rebecca could come down..I know Chris would like to see you, despite how he's behaving."
"He's being an ass and blaming me for something I can do nothing about. But, I'll see what I can do anyway. Let him know that I miss him, and I hope he feels better, okay?"
"Sure. Give us a call when you work things out, 'kay?"
"No problem. Talk to you soon."

TBC
*It's actually from Jurassic Park, and a song called Thunder Road.
**This happened to us on Thursday, I brought the bag, and left it in the car. I'm not used to carrying a bag, okay!?