The next few days flew by. Claire regained her strength steadily and had graduated to walking without assistance. Nevertheless Leon was permanently glued to her side. He was reluctant to leave, even if someone else was present. Sherry Birkin was nearly as devoted as Kennedy. The young woman kept a moderate vigil as her close friend when Leon was unable. When she wasn't fretting over Claire's condition, Birkin was bubbling over the upcoming wedding.

Chris Redfield wasn't as giddy about the impending nuptials. He, Jill and Rebecca spent most of their time consulting each other regarding Leon. They kept an oblivious face to the rest of the gang. It seemed the smartest choice.

"So, we're sticking with the original plan?" Rebecca asked from behind her microscope.

Jill and Chris were seated next to each other on the bed. "Yeah. He hasn't shown any signs of aggression so we'll keep our distance." Jill replied.

"Maybe we should get someone to tail Leon." Chris suggested. "Carlos and he are friends."

"Yeah." Valentine agreed. "Wouldn't be any the wiser."

"No." Chambers snapped, and then coughed politely.

Jill picked up a manila folder. "Yeah, he's not around anyway."

Rebecca blinked. "He's not here?"

Jill riffled through the contents of the folder. "No, he took off to get supplies. Told us that he'd be back in a week or so."

"Oh." The reply came out disinterested. "Listen, guys, it's late. I need to grab some zzz's."

Chris yawned. "Yeah, I'm exhausted. We can pick up tomorrow."

Valentine stood, followed by Redfield. The two wished their medic a good evening before disappearing from the room. Chambers secured the door behind them and locked it. She shook her hair down from its tight ponytail, letting the red tinged locks rest around her shoulders. Her nightly ritual consisted of merely shutting off the lights and crawling into bed. Tonight was no exception, yet her thoughts were plagued with the memories of the last evening she'd spent sobbing in Carlos' arms.

As Becca killed the lights and got into bed, she uttered a small prayer. It was for forgiveness; forgiveness for everything that was done, and had to be done. Hopefully someone was listening to her.

"Leon, really, I'm fine! Would you please just top panicking?" Claire Redfield complained to her fiancée as she lay down for the night.

"You don't know if you'll get thirsty or not. So I'm just going to set a couple bottles here so you don't have to reach too far." Leon explained, placing bottles of water on Claire's nightstand.

Rolling her eyes, Claire reached up and pulled Kennedy down next to her. "All I need to survive the night is you."

Leon tenderly placed his arms around her. He kissed her at length before drawing away, staring into Claire's baby blue eyes.

"God. I love you." He breathed.

"I love you too." Claire touched his cheek, letting her fingers trail over the scar on his cheek. "You know, I think I'm ready for a test drive."

"I test dri-OH!" Leon actually blushed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes I am. Everything's as healed as it's going to get and I feel fantastic. So, I'm not prepared to waste this opportunity." Redfield explained, gazing deep into Leon's jeweled eyes.

"Oh, that's wonderful darling, but I was just making sure you remembered how to do it." Kennedy deadpanned before his mouth betrayed him and broke into a wide grin. "It has been a while."

Claire slapped him playfully before they were lost in another passionate kiss. She entangled her hands in Leon's sandy blonde hair, pulling his lips even closer against her. Kennedy deepened the entanglement but tried his best not to irritate any of Claire's wounds. He let his hands trail up and down her back, as his mouth found the nape of his lover's neck.

Claire clutched him closer. She held his body tightly against hers before pulling away. Redfield reached down and tipped his chin upwards so that their eyes locked.

"Promise me." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Promise me you'll never leave."

"Never." Leon swore. "I'll never leave you.