Chapter II

Uneasy Bridges

While the others had all gone off to get ready for their trip to Washington Claire sat in her room, Grace was nestled in her arms. All the while an irritable feeling was poking at her heart.

Looking down at her child Claire couldn't help but grin widely. Grace had that effect on her mother. Never in Claire's life had she felt such a strong bond of absolute love as she did every time she held her beautiful baby girl. The love had a force that almost hurt, it was tangled with every single feeling that Claire possessed. She lived for Grace, and would do everything in her power to assure that her daughter would never feel an ounce of pain. That was why this whole situation made her feel so irritable, even angry.

The others were going to go out and put a stop on the evil that had cursed them all for so long. And while they were gone Claire had to stay behind helplessly.

She didn't resent having to stay home with her daughter-in truth nothing made Claire happier. Still, feelings of guilt lingered. They were fighting against what she feared most for Grace. The fear that Umbrella would affect her innocent life the same way it had her own. Claire wanted to be out there, protecting her daughter.

Looking back down at Grace Claire let out a soft giggle as her daughter's hand patted gently against her heart. Watching Grace lovingly Claire prayed that when the day came, when her daughter learned of her past, she would forgive her mother.

Claire was caressing Grace's cheek when she heard a soft rattle on her door.

"Come in," Claire called to her knocker.

A smile reached Claire's lips as Leon's boyish face entered the room. "Not interrupting am I?" He asked.

"Not at all," she told him, making room for Leon to sit next to her on the bed.

Comfort was not easy to come by when you're a single mom. Though Claire knew she had more support then one could ever wish for, she still felt as if she was in this parenthood thing alone. Of everyone, Leon was the person who lessened that feeling the most.

From the beginning Leon had been wonderful; he had been there for her every step of the way. But even for all his support Claire couldn't help but feel like he was keeping something from her. A feeling or fear that he felt he had to keep hidden. And for all her efforts Leon wouldn't let that gate open. It worried her.

"So you ready to go?" Claire asked, shaking all her other thoughts away.

"I am," he said with a small grin "Barry and Carlos are still back at the apartment."

Nodding Claire turned away from Leon, she didn't want him to see her shame, but somehow Leon still knew.

"Nobody thinks less of you Claire for not going, far from it."

"I know," she sighed turning back to him. "It's me, after everything we've been through together it feels wrong that I'm not helping you guys."

"Claire, there are so many more important things in your life right now. We be angry if you put those things second."

"We both know that's not even an option for me," she told him firmly "I just wish this pit that's building in my stomach would go away."

With that boyish grin that Claire had grown to adore Leon said to her. "Stop your worrying; this is Leon S. Kennedy you're talking to. And I always come through in the clutch."

First pushing him playfully, Claire found herself resting her head against his shoulder seconds later. In a voice that would barely be considered a whisper she said to Leon. "Please come back-all of you."

Kissing her gentle on the top of her head Leon's own voice became inaudible. "I promise."

They stayed leaning against each other, Grace snuggled against them both, until the others came in to say their goodbyes. Parting quickly, Claire handed Grace completely over to Leon and got up to say farewell to the others. When they left the room it was once again just her and Leon. Standing up he handed Grace back to her. The two stood inches apart, bending down Claire watched Leon kiss Grace ever so gently on the cheek; he then returned his golden eyes back to her.

As he started to back away Claire mouthed the words 'be careful' to him. Leon nodded; his eyes were tied to hers. Then abruptly he turned around and left the room. Watching the door shut behind him Claire winced as that pit in her stomach grew bigger.

It was an enormous step, one that could end everything, all his nightmares and worries. It was a step to end it all...and yet Chris still found himself hesitant. He knew that joining efforts with the F.B.I was the right thing to do, but as he traveled across country an uneasy feeling had crept into his heart.

There was an anxious feeling tingling his nerves, something about going to Washington D.C that made him sickly nervous. Jill had told him it would go away; that it was probably a mixture of feelings like leaving Claire behind, leaving Seattle so quickly about a dozen other things. Though he hadn't said otherwise Chris knew that his feeling was coming from somewhere else. Something that he couldn't possibly expect.

The helicopter that Assistant Director had summoned for them dropped Chris and his comrades off at the Hoover building itself. Waiting for them at the drop off was agent Williams.

"Have a nice trip?" He asked Chris who was the first to get off.

"I suppose," Chris answered still trying to suppress that anxious feeling.

The Assistant Director smirked. "You can all follow me."

Right on his footsteps Chris and the others followed Williams through a steal door and down a long set of titanium stairs. Reaching the bottom of the staircase they found themselves in one of the hallways of the F.B.I. Trying not to seem too impressed Chris continued to follow Williams as he stepped onto an elevator, the others all rushed in after him.

With everyone overlapping shoulders Williams pushed a bottom on the panel; the elevator slowly began to descend.

"I'm taking you guys to one of the lower offices; there you'll meet the team that has been assigned to the Umbrella case."

They were all nodding when the elevator came to a halt. After a high pitch ding the doors slid opened and the group piled out.

When the Assistant Director said he was taking them to one of the lower levels he wasn't kidding. The group had entered a bare hallway, compared to the elegance upstairs; Chris could only describe this floor as a basement.

The Assistant Director indicated to a door down the hallway, grateful for some direction Chris walked to where he was pointed.

The room wasn't as bare as the hallway they just came from, but it still didn't share the rest of the F.B.I's decorating taste. A round oval table was placed in the middle of the medium sized room, cushioned chairs were scattered around it. On the walls were posters of graphs and maps, articles and pictures also clung to the wall, leaving little space for anything else.

As Chris was examining the room he heard Williams call to him from the doorway. "I'm just going to go find the others, please take a seat."

Following the Assistant Director's advice Chris took a seat around the table, the others followed his lead, spare Rebecca, who continued to examine the items on the wall.

"Guys," she said, stopping at one of the articles. "This is an article from Raccoon."

"What does it say?" Barry gruffly asked.

With her shoulders hunched over, Rebecca began to read from the article.

'Raccoon City, Oregon was evacuated yesterday due to an invasion of-you guesses it, zombies. The mindless animals were said to have come from practically no where and prayed on every single human flesh that strayed by.'

Stopping there Rebecca spun around aghast. "There mocking what happened!"

"Yeah," said a voice from the door. "We were appalled as you."

The voice came from a man in his mid-forties; his graying hair was gelled into small spikes. He was wearing a grimace on his face.

The man entered the room, closely followed by two others, both a little younger then the first. Then came Assistant Director Williams, following him was a younger woman who brought up the tail end of the group.

She had long, curly, fury red hair and mesmerizing emerald eyes. Chris recognized the woman immediately.

"Jamie?"

On his knees Adam crawled along the dark alleyway, groping the asphalt painfully with his bloody fingers.

It was dark out; all objects had been reduced to nothing but blurry spots. Moving continued to hurt him rigorously, but with no other options left the pain didn't really matter. The only thing left in his miserable existence was to keep moving, and never look back.

The alleyway seemed to be getting smaller as Adam crawled on, a boxed-in feeling started to swarm over his heart. Moving on Adam felt a sudden blinding pain strike his left hand. Howling painfully into the night Adam rolled onto his back and let his right hand grope for the cause. He felt a sharp object, most likely glass, delved into his hand. Biting his lip Adam pulled the object out.

When he was finished Adam gave into a short cry of agony and threw the glass across the alleyway. Hearing it rattle against another object Adam pressed his bleeding hand against his chest and did what any other desperately lost soul would do. He cried.

His sobs filled the alleyway, drowning out all other sounds that shared the night. It was his sobs that prevented him from hearing the sound of approaching footsteps; it was his involuntary shutters that left him powerless as he noticed a shadow like figure standing over him.

"Mr. Skampa I presume?" said the shadow man's cold voice.

"Who...who are you?" Adam sobbed.

"The only light in you pathetic life," the man replied, his voice carrying no emotion. He lowered his hand in a very enticing manner. Adam stared at it as if it was a pot of gold, still he hesitated.

"What other options do you have Mr. Skampa?" The man said promptly.

Feebly Adam took the shadow man's hand.