A/N: First and foremost I want to apologize to readers for these long breaks. My job has been beyond demanding, however, in a few more months that will no longer be an excuse as it has been for the past 3 and half years. Right now I regret not making time to update and write; I've been having some scary health issues as of late dealing with but hopefully limited to my eyes. I won't know for sure until I see a neurologist, but in the worst-case scenario, I truly hate not taking every opportunity to at least write a paragraph a day. Be patient with me and for those who haven't given up on my updates, I thank you profusely. Usually, I don't do this, but whatever deity you look to, please say a prayer for me. Also, the explanation for the switch in POV is in the rewrite of Leave, however, I recall that many of you preferred first person so let me know how you feel about it; I sort of feel as though this story feels like a first-person story. I can switch it back, however, if you are a reader of Leave that will without a doubt be switched to the third person. So here's my chance to plug Leave: go give it a shot. It's a building Claire/Wesker, Claire/OC, and I've given in to give a little Claire/Leon. Here's the update.

Chapter 2: Choice

October 1st, 2004, Friday 17:34

There were many times in which he should have questioned the ethics or morals of experimentations and observations without doing so. After all, he had a past of committing what the courts and world governments had deemed: unspeakable atrocities that were compared to what had been done at Auschwitz. After his years with Claire, Al had conceded to those judgments, not even capable of telling himself the lie that he had had no choice in the matter. There was always a choice, even if one's beginnings had treated such actions as uniform, and even if one's earliest memories had been of a cruel, cruel test that time had somehow failed to erase. He would not think of it though. With a click of the mouse, he'd been brought back to what had made him finally question his morals, and for a fraction of a second, he'd considered telling his wife precisely what was going on.

She would refuse.

With strength, Claire's resilience had grown as well. Her husband could no longer believe that she was acting for the benefit of their offspring, but rather now because she was angry, bitter even. Upon the news of their freedom from persecution, he could recall no excitement, but rather generic happiness that seemed to be quilted with thick and heavy wariness. She could never trust the outside world, and if she found out what he was up to she could never trust him. When he showed up with Haven and Liam, swaddled and newborn she did not question him, and she even thanked him, but this was different. This was akin to assault, and something about that word and his wife in the same sentence bothered him more than any experiment ever had.

"You don't seem so sure about this," Jack croaked from behind him.

Al brought a finger to rest against his mouth, staring at the report before him but not reading any of it; reading meant that he was looking for the possibility that this would work and that he would follow through with his proposal to force Claire to sit out for a while. Typically, he wouldn't ask for Jack's opinion, especially since his belief on the matter was biased and in part the reason that this idea was even born, but he could not ask Sherry. The young woman's fondness for Claire came with a fierce loyalty that would not be corrupted due to the current rebuilding of their past relationship. No. This would be his decision and he would take Jack's thoughts on it with a grain of salt.

As he closed out the window, the blond rose from his seat, staring into the now black monitor before him. "In the past, there was never the issue of consent."

Jack scoffed, "Oh it was an issue all right." The silence from his employer prompted him to add, "'Sorry, boss."

Al felt tired, and though it was mental fatigue it still shocked him; he hadn't felt tired in ages.

It's emotional.

If that were the case, then it was indeed a new sensation. Had Jack not been there he would have slumped onto his desk, closed his eyes, and actually prayed for a sign of what to do. He was never one for religions or gods, but this could not be answered by men with a very small amount of conscience to begin with.

"Ultimately," Jack's raspy voice floated from behind him once more, "it's up to you." As though he could feel his employer about to protest, he quickly corrected himself. "Well, it's not, but you get what I mean."

With an exhale, Al shut his eyes tightly and turned his head to the side.

"But I care about her too," the former soldier said firmly. "If she'll fight for her kids, she'll sit down for them." The sound of his footsteps was the only thing that caused Al's eyes to open, but before he could retreat up the stairs, Jack almost whispered, "I think losing her would destroy us all." Just when it seemed that it was over, somewhere beneath the sounds of his boots on the metal stairs, Al made out the words, "And you'd set the world on fire for what it did to her."

21:56

Night had fallen upon the manor, casting a quiet over it that would never be acquired by any of the residents except for the children. Despite the time spent there, no one had truly ventured out into Belarus; they were all afraid that someone that worked for some organization would recognize them and fail to adhere to international laws. Just like the people that threatened the well-being of Haven and Liam. Haven and Liam, Al thought as he shut off the shower, strands of wet, blond hair sticking to his forehead. He held onto the knob, staring down at the last of the water swirling down the drain, standing still as the air around him began to cool, but it was still thick from the humidity. As he reached for a towel on the rack just outside of the shower, he heard the bathroom door open.

Claire meekly stepped inside, smiling almost shyly as she walked over to the sink to grab her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth. As she tried not to look at him from the mirror, she rested a hand on the marble counter, the action of her bending forward causing her light pink, t-shirt dress to hitch up just enough for Al to see that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Nonchalantly, the blond ruffled his hair with the towel in an attempt to absorb some of the water, but when he thought that he saw his spouse eyeing him he began to dry himself off. He hadn't touched her since that one night she'd returned, and after her menstruation had ended there was no excuse. None that she knew of at least. At the thought of her mood being prompted by ovulation, he exhaled deeply, knowing that his own level of attraction to her would deepen. To keep his eyes off of her, he looked down to the floor, realizing that their bathroom was the only room in the manor that required compromise; she'd agreed to black marble floors and walls to make up for so much of their dwelling being white and gold. How much more could she compromise for him?

Pushing that thought aside, the blond walked over to the sink himself, securing the towel around his waist before reaching for his toothbrush. There was no noise between them but the bristles against their teeth and eventually the faucet being turned back on so that they could spit. He'd expected Claire to leave then, hoping that she would have not been able to stand the lingering humidity, but instead, she just stood there glancing from the corner of her eye. Then he moved to toss the damp towel into the hamper on the other side of her, noting that his wife did not even flinch. Before he could turn and head toward the bedroom though, he caught the scent of her perfume, noting that his wife never wore perfume to bed. There was a reason behind his, making it harder for him to walk away. So that he would not appear dismissive of her efforts, the blond stepped up behind her, noting that she had her hands placed palms down. Inhaling her deeply, Al embraced her from behind crossing his arms over her abdomen before placing a light kiss on her cheek.

As he released his hold, he allowed his hands to stop on her hips, knowing that it was not a good idea, but unable to deny her the smallest pieces of affection.

Much to his frustration, -that Claire was oblivious to- she turned her head to look at him, arching her back just enough so that he could feel her bottom brushing against his barely-covered groin.

He couldn't pull away. No, that wouldn't be fair to her; she didn't know what could happen. All he could do was rest his forehead against her shoulder, feeling his grip on her hips tighten unconsciously.

This understandably signaled his spouse to further press her bottom against him, grabbing his hands and squeezing them to encourage him to not let go. Then he saw her reflection in the mirror, and she was biting her bottom lip.

With what could only be described as a deep, growl, Al spun Claire around to face him, a frown present that surely confused her, but she was winning the game of Poker. They said nothing, just stared into each other's eyes. Fire and ice. Claire had no idea what she was starting, but her partner knew the full extent of the possible consequences if they were to give in. In the past, he'd done so. Two years ago he'd let her bait him into giving in to his desires, however, he'd also been able to stop. Today, if he stopped it wasn't simply because he felt they'd be successful in creating life, but because she had no idea while he knew that they could.

Despite knowing though, he couldn't stop himself or resist her at this moment. Forcing her back around to face the sink, he unsecured his towel, letting it fall to the tiled floor beneath them. Before he knew it he was inside of her, and at that moment he felt no regret or shame, however, once she'd reached her climax he had been brought back to his senses. Without warning, he'd pulled out and turned her back to face him, commanding, "Get on your knees."

Knowing no better, she'd done as he had ordered, taking him into her mouth without further prompt. At some point, he'd grabbed the back of her head, thrusting himself in and out until he felt himself coming. The sound of his grunts seemed to only further embolden her to take even more of his length and increase her suction. Her determination was causing him to become lightheaded, but she seemed to notice after swallowing. The brunette finally released his still-erect length, but not without devilishly grinning and licking his head a few more times. As she sucked the tip of his sex, he shook his head, smirking back at her.

Unbeknownst to his concupiscent mate, he was also shaking his head at himself. He needed to keep a clear mind, for if he gave in to the head without one he'd be going another round with her in which he couldn't pull off the same finish without drawing questions. "You're so…" he trailed off, running his thumb down her swollen, bottom lip. Grabbing a fistful of hair at the back of her head, he pulled Claire up to her feet while she still grinned back at him in what had to have been delight due to the reaction she'd provoked.

Fuck it.

Rather than give in to the voice in his head, Al froze, bringing his forehead down to his wife's, slowly pushing her back against the sink. Somehow, he was still hard even with the potential consequences swirling around in his mind.

With a raspy voice that was only present because of her previous act, she teased him. "You know you want more. I know that you want more too." She threw a glance down before staring back up into his brilliantly, burning gaze. "Please?" she begged. "Do you want me to get down on my knees again and ask?" From a slight tug of resistance, he could tell that she would have done it had he not still been gripping her hair and holding her up. "Fine," she conceded, almost sadly. "You'll wish you had next time I have to leave for a while."

It wasn't the threat she thought it was, but to mask his disappointment, Al threw on a smirk, whispering as he peered down at her, "I rather like you begging. Let's see how badly you want it." As the brunette attempted to fight back in vexation, he chuckled and released her.

"You forget," she began, sauntering out of the bathroom before looking back at him to add, "I can be persuasive."

"I've found that the more that you want it, the harder you suck," he retorted, causing her to break her composure and smile. Fortunately, -or perhaps, unfortunately- his spouse finally left him alone in the bathroom, and he could've released the biggest sigh of relief had he been sure that Claire would not have heard it. Perhaps this would be harder than he'd thought. Ovulating, his partner was insatiable, and it had been so long since she had experienced the occurrence that she probably had no idea what she was doing. After all, Al had assured her that everything was fine and that nothing had changed.

Just tell her.

The thought was not novel, but the admission that he had to make to himself was overwhelming: it would still be wrong not to tell her why he wanted another child. An even larger admission was that Albert Wesker did not want another child himself and so the lie that he did would not come so easily. Haven and Liam were loved, no doubt, but things were in place that he needed to be free and ready for. It would have been far from right to leave Claire to once more handle the children in his absence, especially considering that she'd vowed to oversee any of her husband's future "ventures." There was no way that Claire would let him go to Spain alone, and with a concealed purpose to top it off. Therefore, it seemed that no matter his decision on the matter, he'd end up with a dilemma all the same.

Any choice that he made would in one way or another take away hers.

A/N: I went shorter with this chapter because longer means I'm less likely to give you guys an update. I've been free all week and this is all I've gotten out as far as writing. I really didn't want to write the porn part because I feel like there was some already in chapter one and I don't want to make this seem like that's all the sequel will be (there is going to have to be some more slight adult content in the next chapter to get the story to progress so it is not without purpose). Also, excuse my wording during that part because it has been a while and that area of creativity needs some work, and since it's not the first person it doesn't allow for the exact, same blunt verbiage O_O Anyway, whoever is still out there, drop a review to let me know that you're still here. Also, it's time for RE4 in this story!