Author's Note: This is a REVISED chapter. Even if you've already read it, you'll need to read it again for Chapter 06 to make sense!

Chapter 05 -- "Reach Out and Touch Someone"

Billy scowled as the elevator doors slid open, and he was greeted with darkness. He stood absolutely still, listening intently for sounds of movement, or the soft, hungry groan of a T-Virus zombie. Hell, he'd have happily dealt with some elevator music. It was too damn quiet, and it made him edgy, hesitant even to step out of the elevator car and pick up Rebecca's phone. It was lying near the heap of autopsy corpse and the crumpled body of Drake Parker. Not that Billy was worried about the corpses; that they were still where he'd left them meant they probably wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. So quit being a pansy, Coen, he told himself sharply. Take the three steps it's going to take you to get that damned phone, and get back upstairs before you psych yourself out.

He stepped out of the elevator car, kneeling down to pick up Rebecca's phone. His eyes flicked uncertainly to the two corpses laying nearby, but neither of them so much at twitched. He pocketed the phone, and frowned a little as he stood, turning back toward the elevator car. The sound of clothing rustling made him jump, and by then it was too late.

I've been ambushed.

Those three words were the only ones that ran through Billy's mind as he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. He spun and fired, the sound of the shot and the flare of the muzzle rendering him deaf and blind for a few moments in the enclosed space. It went wild, the bullet making a pinging sound as it struck the concrete walls. A second set of hands gripped him and Billy brought his magnum up and fired again as he felt teeth sink into his shoulder.

He cried out, more in surprise than pain, and shook the zombie off. The zombie lunged at him again, giving him a glimpse of a white labcoat. Billy braced himself for the impact, catching the corpse as it collided with him. He pushed hard against the zombie, knocking it back, his hands catching hold of something that pulled away in his hand. He didn't have time to so much as look at what was in his hand, however, as something else intruded on his consciousness.

The light was getting dimmer.

Which meant the elevator doors were closing. "Shit!" he hissed, pivoting on his heel and darting back toward the elevator.

He managed to squeeze through the remaining open space, and the doors shut with a soft sound. Billy exhaled a relieved breath, only to jump when the sound of something striking the doors echoed loudly in the elevator car. Moans reached his ears, and he shivered at the sound, pressing the button for the next floor up and leaning back against the wall of the elevator as it began to move. The ride up seemed to take forever, and he was acutely aware of the wetness on his skin, sliding down over his arm, making his silk shirt stick. His heart was hammering hard in his chest, his harsh breathing lost to the ringing in his ears. His shoulder ached, but he wasn't too worried. The pain wasn't that bad.

As he rode up, he turned his attention for the first time to the thing he'd pulled off the zombie during his struggle. It was an ID badge. His stomach clenched as he looked at it; he'd seen these a hundred times before, but never in a hospital. It was an Umbrella Corporation namebadge.

The hospital belonged to them.

The elevator jostled him a little as it came to a halt, and he pushed away from the door and he staggered out, numb from both the pain, and the weight of the knowledge he carried. He heard someone call his name, the voice not registering with him right at first and he slumped against the wall. Billy had almost convinced himself that he'd been imagining things when the voice called out to him again. He looked up, clutching at his bleeding shoulder, and caught sight of Rebecca. He couldn't help but smile, just a little. "Hey, Becca," He replied.

"What the hell were you thinking! You're insane to go down there on your own..."

"I know...I know..." He dug into his pocket and then held up his hand, Rebecca's cell phone clasped tightly in it. "I found your phone," He said, before sliding down the wall to land roughly in a sitting position.

Rebecca was at his side in an instant, pushing his hand away from his shoulder and carefully peeling back the blood-soaked silk of his shirt. "Oh god, Billy," she breathed, biting her bottom lip as she got a better look at the ragged, bloody wound. The oval-shaped wound was too familiar; they'd been made by human teeth. "What happened?"

Billy shrugged his good shoulder. "I got ambushed."

"This is bad...I need to clean it."

Shaking his head, Billy swatted Rebecca's hands away, and forced himself to his feet. "No time now. We've got to get the hell out of here..."

"What? They haven't gotten out of the basement, have they?"

"Worse."

The reply caught Rebecca off-guard. "What could be worse than that?"

Billy's smile was small, and held within it no humor as he picked up the name badge and held it out for her inspection. "This hospital is one of Umbrella's."

"No wonder their clean-up crew was here so fast!" Rebecca's tone was incredulous.

With a nod, Billy started heading toward the door again, Rebecca right on his heels. She wasn't so sure she felt right about leaving his wound untended. Bites like that were usually fatal when they came from T-Virus zombies, but she knew from personal experience that if the wound was cleaned immediately, there was a good chance the infection wouldn't take hold. If left untreated for too long, however...

Rebecca shook herself sharply from that train of thought; Billy would be all right. She would tend his wounds as soon as they were somewhere safe. "So where are we going to take them?" she asked, knowing that they had to get Dee, Diana and the others out of there.

"I haven't decided yet. Go back up and let the others know what's going on. See if they know somewhere safe we can go."

"Where are you going?"

"Out to the car for a smoke and to spray the shit outta this with some first aid spray I trust."

"But–"

Billy flashed Rebecca a rare smile. "You can play doctor with me later, once we're somewhere safe." And with that, he walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Rebecca staring at his retreating back.

Fits of brilliance were not Dee Laytner's strong suit. He had a tendency to suggest things before he thought about them, and it often led to ideas that sounded fantastic at the time, only to turn out to seem decidedly less so later. When Rebecca had explained their situation, therefore, it didn't entirely surprise him when he heard himself suggest that they hide with Penguin. After all, there weren't many places safer than an orphanage run by a Catholic nun.

Luckily for Dee, Penguin immediately agreed to let them stay on a currently uninhabited floor of her orphanage. To Dee's surprise and great relief, the matronly woman asked few questions, which was unusual for her. She was usually bursting at the seams with curiosity about the things that happened in her former ward's life.

As soon as they'd arrived and Penguin agreed to take them in, Rebecca quickly took charge. She got Berkeley settled in a room next to her own, choosing it because of its sturdy door, which could be locked from both sides by means of an antique key. Diana chose the other room next to Berkeley's. Ryo's room took the unoccupied space on the other side of Rebecca's, which meant she could hear both patients at any given time. Billy took up residence in the room across the hall from Rebecca's, and Dee stayed in the room across from Ryo's. Once they were all settled, they regrouped in Billy's room to plan their next move while Rebecca tended his injury.

"Are you really sure it's a good idea for us to be here, Dee?" Diana asked, finding a seat near the window.

"I can't think of anywhere safer in New York City," Dee replied from his place near the door, his tone full of confidence he didn't really feel.

The FBI agent sighed. "I just don't feel right about this."

"We really didn't have much choice," Rebecca said, looking up from Billy's wound.

Before Diana could protest again, Billy spoke. "She's right. They'll be keeping an eye on the other hospitals and hotels."

"Not to mention every airport, subway station, car rental office, and taxi company in the state," Rebecca continued as she turned her attention to what she was doing again. "This'll be the last place they'll expect us to hide."

"I hope you're right."

"Look at it this way," Billy said, smiling a bit in spite of the pain he was in. "They're likely to look into any relations or loved ones you all have in this city. If we're here, we can protect the Sister and the kids."

Diana nodded at that. "That's true."

Looking over at the others, it was Dee who spoke next. "So what now?"

"Now, we rest. We'll figure out what to do in the morning," Rebecca said firmly. "We're all too tired and too stressed out to think clearly tonight."

Nodding, Dee pushed away from the wall, and headed for the door. "You'll...let me know if Ryo wakes up?"
Rebecca nodded. "I promise, if anything changes, you'll know."

Dee headed out, and after eliciting a similar promise from Rebecca, so did Diana. Once they were gone, Rebecca walked over to the door, closing it and locking it. Then she turned back toward Billy, who was in the process of smoothing down the tape she'd put over the gauze and bandages. Feeling eyes on him, he looked up. "You okay?" He asked softly.

"I don't know..."

"So what happened that you aren't telling them?"

Rebecca slumped against the door. "Rose...he's got the virus..."

"Shit." Billy rose from the bed and crossed the room on silent feet until he could wrap his arms around Rebecca. "No wonder you wanted him separated from the others."

The embrace was more than welcome, and Rebecca gladly returned it, finding a long-familiar comfort in the Marine's strong arms as she gave way to frustrated tears. Billy said nothing more, content to simply allow her to let out whatever frustration she needed to. He knew she'd tell him everything when she was ready. When she'd finally cried herself out, Rebecca pulled away from Billy and wiped at her eyes. "I-I'm sorry..."

"You apologize to me again," he said, hoping to either amuse her or irritate her out of her depression, "and I'm going to have to tape your mouth shut."

Rebecca leveled a glare on him, but there was no real malice behind it, and her anger evaporated quickly. With a shake of her head and a quiet sigh, she rested her forehead against his chest. Billy smiled and ran a hand affectionately through her hair. "We'll figure out something," he said. "Maybe there's some info on a cure or something still in that hospital."

"Maybe, but it would be suicide to go back in there..."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But we're kinda short on options."

"We need a face they haven't seen before..."

"I don't think we've got anyone else available for this mission."

Rebecca smiled suddenly. "Yes we do. I'm going to go make a few calls. I'll come check on you in a few hours, okay?"

Billy looked confused, but nodded. "Okay."

It was sometime around 2am when Rebecca knocked on the door to Billy's room again. Not that the time mattered much; Billy didn't really sleep anymore. He looked up from cleaning his magnum and smiled a little; he'd know her knock anywhere. "It's open," he called out, trying to be just loud enough to be heard, without disturbing the people in the next room.

The door opened with a soft creak, and Rebecca slipped in. She was wearing a t-shirt she'd borrowed from him earlier that evening, Billy noted with an amused smile that the hem of it still came down to a few inches above her knees. "C'mon in," he said.

Rebecca closed the door behind her, flipping the lock, and padded on silent feet toward the bed where Billy was sitting. Rebecca smiled faintly when she saw that he'd changed out of his suit, and was now wearing a pair of badly faded jeans. He was shirtless, the bandages on his shoulder showing in stark contrast to his tanned skin. "How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Pretty good. Little tired, but we've had a hell of a day."

She nodded. "No kidding."

Billy set aside the gun and wiped his hands off, before patting the bed beside him. Rebecca took the silent invitation, moving over to sit beside him; the mattress barely shifted as she sat down. "You feeling better?" he asked her, not wanting to leave the silence hanging too long. After a beat, he reached out and slid the uninjured arm around her shoulders.

Rebecca leaned against him, smiling a little. "Yes. I'm..." she trailed off, not wanting to apologize. While she had a fairly good notion that Billy had only been kidding with his earlier threat to tape her mouth shut, but she wasn't completely sure. He was unpredictable sometimes. "...never mind."

Billy chuckled, but said nothing. They fell into a more comfortable silence this time. Finally, Rebecca turned and reached up to settle her fingertips lightly on the bandage. "Does it...hurt much now?" she asked quietly. "Do you need anything for it?"

Shaking his head, Billy turned his head to press a gentle kiss to her temple. "I'm okay."

"Good."

Judging from Rebecca's tone, Billy guessed that the young woman was just shades away from falling into a depression again, and he couldn't allow that. "Besides, it could have been worse. He got the arm that didn't have the tattoo." Rebecca gave the Marine an incredulous look. He may very possibly be infected, and he was worried about the tattoo? Billy only laughed, and his arm around her shoulder tightened. "What can I say?" he replied to her unspoken question. "It was expensive."

She continued to stare at him. Billy stared right back and tried his best not to laugh. As their eyes met again, Rebecca felt a laugh bubbling in her chest, and she tried to swallow it. It was no use. Within moments, both of them were laughing, holding onto each other until the sound died away. "So 'fess up," Billy said quietly. "Who were you calling in?"

"You'll see tomorrow, just like everybody else."

"You're killing my illusions of being special, you know that, right?"

"Oh, Billy," Rebecca replied, shaking her head. She leaned up and kissed him gently on the cheek. "You know you're special."

Her frankness surprised him, and he was speechless. Her smile only increased. "Now try to get some sleep. We're both going to need it."

Her bare feet made no sound on the hardwood floor as she crossed the room and opened the door. Rebecca hesitated in the threshold, and looked back at Billy uncertainly. She almost seemed ready to say something, but shook her head and walked out of the room, shutting the door before Billy could call out to her.

There's another one! As always, read and review please!