Author's note: All things Resident Evil, and whatever else that I couldn't possibly think up, are obviously not mine. Anyway, after a long break, I finally got back to writing as a means to waste my time. So, read, review, and hopefully enjoy.

Resident Evil: "The Rose and the Estuary"

Prologue:

Leon stared Chris at the face; his cheeks were red from both despair and hatred. A small handgun was trained at Chris' chest, with but only three paces separating the two men. "…Think about this Leon…you don't want to do this." Chris whispered, his palms out forward, as if that could help push the assailant away. Leon could hear the crack in the voice of the older man, something uncharacteristic of the strong, proud survivor that he knew. "…You're about to shoot a high ranking military official…" Chris continued, his back pressed against the edge of his mahogany desk. "…Fuck you." Leon responded, his voice brimming with pure emotion. "I don't care what you are…" He took a step forward, his hand was shaking, and he felt as if at anytime, he would just collapse from everything that has just happened to him.

"Leon don't do this…!"

"I trusted you! I trusted you, you motherfucker!"

"Cue."The sudden outburst was a distraction enough that Chris managed to grab Leon's hands and turn the gun away. A shot rang out, and a bullet flew by Chris' ear, breaking through a glass partition that led to the garden. With the vacuum still reverberating through his head, Chris slammed his knee across Leon's gut, consequently making the younger man let out a cry of discomfort. He then tried to wrestle the gun from Leon's hands, but the younger man seemed a lot stronger than Chris originally imagined. Three more shots were let loose, hitting the ceiling consecutively.

"Shit!" Chris shouted through gritted teeth, quickly adjusting himself. With his right hand still keeping the gun upward, he mover his left arm over Leon's right, so that Leon's right arm was adjacent to Chris' chest. Chris then pressed his left elbow down on Leon's right arm, which was trapped between Chris' arms, forcing the young man's arm to bend. With his right hand, Chris pushed the gun further down, while the left pulled at the same direction. Leon's eyes widened in horror as he saw the barrel of the gun drawing closer to his scalp, all the time Chris' figure loomed over him. If Leon would try to kick Chris away, he could still reach the trigger in time and blow a hole through Leon's head.

"Told you, you little sack of shit…" Chris whispered, his teeth still gritted. "…You'll always be half the man I am." He finished, as Leon was already tilting his neck to the right, hoping that only an ear could get blasted off if ever the gun did go off. "No…" Leon closed his eyes tight, and lashed out his leg right to Chris' crotch. As he expected, Chris' finger tightened around the crowded trigger, and the shot went off. Both men yelled as they fell down, opposite each other. "Son of a bitch!" Chris screamed at the top of his lungs as he clutched his groin. Leon couldn't even discern what the other man said, as he groaned in pain. He could feel the blood trickle down the side of his head. "Oh my God…" he whispered, as he felt a chunk of his ear go missing. The revolver was dropped right between the two recovering men, and their eyes instantly locked onto it. No backing down now. With loud cries, they lunged for the gun.

Chapter 1: "Storyteller"

Claire stared right past the senior police detective sitting across the room, and found nothing but a dark void. Her eyes were still tired from all the tears that were spent, and for whom, even she was not so certain. All she knew was that her eyes still hurt from crying, and that the creature she caressed in her belly felt like it could pull her down through the floor at any given moment. "…" Her beautiful white gown was stained by blood at the area of the stomach, and her constant caress kept on smearing it till it was a sick rusty color. "Can you tell us what happened?" The detective asked, her hands holding one another as she leaned on the stainless table. She was still young, with short blonde hair and a figure that most women would envy. "You can take all your time…but please remember that-"

"How is he?" she asked, cutting the detective in mid-speech.

"He's still in the ICU."

"Will he be fine?" Claire asked, her voice bordering between concern and anger, once again a thin line that she did not yet feel to elaborate.

"…We aren't sure yet…Ms. Redfield, but the faster you answer our questions, the faster that we can take you to where he is being held. "

"…"

"Ms. Redfield, someone of great service to this country was just killed, by a person whom you know intimately. We need to get to the bottom of this. This was no act of self-defense."

"…You know…it's funny."

"…Yes?"

"This all started right after that night…the night I told Leon how much I loved him."

"…"

"…Everyone knew that it was going to happen. I mean, him and me, we looked good. You'd think that when we…that it would be some fairytale ending."

"…"

"And it was supposed to be. That night…well…" she looked down onto her stomach, pressed her palms upon it once more, and smiled a sad, twisted smile. "I'm pregnant…first month… I'm going to be a mommy." She said, holding back the tears. "Ms. Redfield…I…don't really know what to say." The detective muttered, glancing at the two-way glass at the side of the room, pleading with her eyes to place her somewhere else.

Two figures stood motionless at the opposite end of the two-way mirror, watching both women in nervous silence. "…I don' we'll get anything out of her today." The younger of the two officers then muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He was still young, barely his late twenties, but like the girl on the other side, he had his own share of the nightmare. "Aya's good at this, Kevin. Have a little faith." The commissioner then responded, prompting the young man to just nod back in response. Kevin turned and walked back to a desk, lazily sitting down and pushing back his mid-length brown hair with his cold hands. Whereas Kevin was the built, athletic, and handsome officer, the commissioner was the antithesis. He was old, tall, almost frail. But a lot of people regretted the day that they thought of him only as such, especially out in the field. Both of them wore suits and ties. "What's happening now?" he asked, not lifting his eyes from the dead steel table that he was leaning his elbows on. "…Aya's still trying to get her to talk." Responded the commissioner; his eyes were still glued to the two girls on the other end. "I wonder what she's thinking…" Kevin whispered, addressed to no one in particular.

"Ah! Claire moaned in pleasure as she rode Leon, who too was getting carried away by the excitement. With greedy hands, he reached up and grabbed her breasts, caressing them incessantly as she squatted up and down. "Oh God, Claire…I'm gonna…!"

"Claire?"

"Yes?" she snapped back to the present, finding detective Aya looking both puzzled and uncomfortable at the sweat and redness that flushed the woman's cheeks.

"Were you just…?"

"…? My mind must have been wandering…" Claire responded, pushing back a strand of hair that was caught on her brow.

"Listen, Claire…I have the utmost respect for you…for your brother…and for Leon. I want to know exactly what happened, so we can clear all this up, and hopefully you can…live normally again." There was clear sincerity in her voice, but she could not prevent a bit of impatience escape with her words.

"…Like I said, it all started when Leon and I…when we…" Claire closed her eyes, her mind flashing back, back to the beginning, where the light and the dark were not yet so entangled.

"About two weeks ago, before all this… it was Sunday night…I waited to tell him…"

Claire smiled to herself in contentment as she lit the last few candles that were scattered on the dining table. Everything was perfect, the wine, the salad, the 'Air on a G String' gently playing on the stereo. How the soft melody helped calm her nerves in times of desperation was simply invaluable to her. The only thing more stunning than the set up was her, with her auburn hair falling gently down her shoulders, and a modest red dress that Leon gave her for a present.

"I was nervous. I mean, who wouldn't be?"

Claire let out a nervous sigh as she heard a key set in, and consequently the doorknob turn and the door creak open. Leon stepped inside, his eyes darting all over the place. It didn't take long before a smile cracked from his tired face, and with taking off his brown sheepskin jacket, he then marched straight to the dining room. "Here we go…" Claire whispered to herself, as she finally saw the man she was waiting for stop at the doorway. He was always so handsome, no matter the stress, the unshaved chin, or the occasional blood splatter. He had on his lucky black turtleneck shirt, the one he had on in an incident involving the president's daughter. "…Wow." Leon uttered, as his eyes trailed to the table, and then to the woman that he cherished above everything else. "Come on…let's eat, then I'm going to tell you something very, very important." She coaxed, standing up to gently kiss him on the lips. "You bought me a Pontiac?" He playfully asked, sliding his hands across her waist. "No." she replied, gently pushing herself away. "Okay…then I'm ready for everything." Leon joked again, setting himself down on a chair.

"I always loved the way he smiled. It was like…"

"Wait." Aya broke Claire's reminiscing. "Pushed him away? As in forcefully?" She then asked, to which Claire quickly shook her head. "No, oh no…he was always gentle with…"

"Oh God…Claire…harder! Harder!"

"…Yes?" Aya asked, watching Claire once again wander off into her own little world.

"…Leon…he was always gentle with me." She finished, her eyes disconnecting with Aya's as she spoke.

"…Okay…please, go on then."

"…" A bitter smile crept up Claire's face as her eyes began to trail off into some distant land once again.

"It was after dinner when I told him…my God, I was so nervous…"

Claire's heart stopped at the shock that took Leon, albeit lasting only a few seconds, she felt as if the anxiety of waiting for what he would respond could drown her. She held her stomach, smiling weakly. "We're going to have a baby." She said. Then as quickly as it came, all the dread, the fear was washed away, when Leon yelled out in loud cheer. Without warning, he took Claire in his arms in what could be the best embrace that both of them have ever felt. "You mean it? I'm going to be a father?" he asked her again, practically leaping for joy. "Yes…we'll be a family." Claire responded, tears welling in her eyes. She then felt his lips against hers, and for a moment, indeed she was happy. But only for a moment.

"I thought that…we could be happy."

"Weren't you? We all saw you and Leon, you seemed so…perfect together." Aya then said, already becoming engrossed with the storyteller's words.

"…Sorry, but I really have to use the comfort room." Claire then said, looking much more uncomfortable then she already was. "…" Aya glanced at the two-way mirror, and then felt her mobile phone vibrate in response. "Alright." She said, standing up at the same time as Claire. "Officer Ryman will be with you…" she then declared, staring vengefully at the two-way mirror.

"What did I do? Hey!" Kevin whined as Aya smirked and turned to leave.

"There a problem?" The commissioner asked, raising a gray eyebrow.

"…I have a date."

"No you don't."

"I do!"

"Steer."

"I am not steering you!"

"Well, cancel you're date. You have a new one. And you'll be picking her up outside the comfort room the moment she finishes urinating, or throwing up, or whatever girls do."

"…I'm getting a raise."

"No you won't."

Claire looked at herself in the mirror, irritated at the fatigue that was etched on her once faultless features. With an aggravated sigh, she took out some foundation from her purse and began to powder her cheeks. She ignored the reflection of the shocked stare of a girl who emerged from a cubicle right behind her. She was used to the attention. Used to having people glance at her whenever she walked down a hall or drove around in a tap-down. In fact, deep down, she'd always be disappointed if the day ended without guys checking her out. Knowing all that, and knowing how much she degenerated overnight, then one can already imagine the level of disgust that Claire saw as she looked into the mirror. "…" Before being practically a celebrity, she never even cared for the way she looked. She was happy with herself, for who she was, for her strength as an independent female. But some things do change. Sudden glimpses into the life of pleasure and popularity corrupts as much as power could.

After tilting her face left and right to check for anything unsightly, she backed a step and returned her touch-ups to her purse. "…This is the ladies' room." She then uttered, before turning to her far left and finding officer Ryman standing by the doorway. "Yeah, but since you all have been lobbying for equality for such a long time…" He responded, noticing a girl stop behind him. With a wink, he let the girl pass into the room, before resuming his sentry like position. He already exchanged his earlier suit for his civilian clothes, which for him was infinitely more refreshing. A white shirt clung easily to his good physique, topped off by a gray, denim jacket. Everyone was into the vintage look.

"The commissioner asked me to be your personal bodyguard-"

"Don't need you." Claire cut him off before he could finish his statement.

"Yeah, well I don't care." Kevin then snapped back, catching the young woman off her guard.

"…You can't talk to me like-"

"Actually, yes, I can."

"You ignorant…"

" Listen. Leon was my friend. My best friend. Heck, I saved a seat for him every football game that came along. Now he's…" Kevin bit his lip, not finishing the sentence. Claire just stared at him, while Kevin began to look away, both trying to find a way to beachhead into each other's minds.

"…He was like a brother to me, Claire. And now this happens. Neither Chris nor Leon deserved it what happened, but it happened. You're not the only one who's hurting right now. The only chance we get of cracking this case is by getting through your thick skull and finding out how this all started." He then declared, his voice stern, but barely above the faint whisper. A lot of people were already curious as to what they were discussing.

"…You were holding something back from detective Brea in the interrogation room. I want to know what." He softly demanded, not budging from the doorway.

"…" Claire took a deep breath.

"…" Kevin shifted his weight.

"…Well…do you really think you're ready?"

Chapter 1, end.