Chapter Four:

Silence wasn't exactly golden that day as Claire drove down the busy highway, glancing every now and then towards Leon, who had been like a broken down automaton for _hours_. Not that she blamed him. Claire had seen the look in his eyes, all the pain that was settled under the surface. He may be trying to be strong, but sooner or later, those unspoken feelings would break the surface. And it was going to be hell. She remembered reacting in the very same way when her mother died, mere years after her father went. It felt as if the whole world was coming down around her, but she was rooted in one spot. Depression had become such a frequent visitor that Chris had forced her to go to a pyschologist to sort out her emotions. She hadn't had very many people in her life that were as close to her as her brother or that she cared so much for like...like Leon... Every time she looked his way she felt compelled to say something but no words came out.

After nearly an hour of staring at a particular spot on the windshield, Leon turned to look at her. He gave her the slightest of smiles and gestured to the front, "You should keep your eyes on the road."

"Oh...right." She said, looking straight ahead once again.

She was surprised when less than a minute later, Leon's haggard voice spoke up again. "How are you holding up?"

"Pretty good. But shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?" Claire replied.

Leon flinched as if her words stung. "I guess I should be getting used to that question, huh?"

The corner of Claire's mouth turned up slightly. "You might hear that a lot. Even from people you never knew before..." Before she could stop herself, Claire barged on. "I'm sorry."

A questioning expression lighted Leon's eyes. "Sorry for what? My father?"

"Sorry for... everything... Your dad... not being able to say anything to help you--well, I guess, from experience there really is nothing you _can_ say to--"

"Claire." He interrupted. A little colour returned to Leon's face as a real smile appeared on his visage. "Just you being here means more than any words can say." He leaned back and closed his eyes exhaustedly. "Claire, I have to tell you this now or I may forget. Once we reach my hometown, let me take over, alright?"

Claire agreed and focused on the highway before her. Silence resumed in the jeep; She felt no need to fill it, just to get out of it. Perhaps that was why she drove faster for the next nine hours straight. It was nearly midnight by the time she pulled into a motel by the road.

"Just climb over here." Leon told her. "I'll keep driving."

"Leon, it's midnight. Do you really think you should be driving in the state you're in--"

"I'll be fine, Claire." Leon told her. He then caught himself. "I'll be fine. You can rest or something. You've been driving all day."

Against her better judgement, Claire traded places with Leon and felt just a little bit queasy as he got on the road again. Her intention was to stay up, watching Leon to make sure he didn't swerve or lose it completely but less than fifteen minutes into doing this, she felt her eyes growing heavier. Time seemed to stop for one brief moment in her dreamless sleep but when she awoke again, her neck was stiff and sunlight was trying to penetrate through the tinted windows. Outside, trees and scenery were flying by at a break-necking pace and she felt her stomach turn over as Leon started for the exit up ahead.

Claire looked at the speedometer and saw that he was going at nearly 110mph.

"Um...how long have you been driving like that?" she queried.

"Huh?" Leon asked, turning to her.

"Leon--keep your eyes on the road!" she exclaimed, gripping her seatbelt.

"Oh, sorry." Leon let up on the gas but only enough so that he was lingering just under the 100 mark.

"Pull over to the side, I can take over now." Claire replied.

Leon seemed to have covered more miles than she had expected him to because they reached his town less than three hours later. The Kennedy's lived in a nice subdivision just outside the urban areas. The houses were close together but still had a little yard room for kids and flowers alike to grow in.

"Take a left here." Leon said gruffly, his knuckles white from gripping his seatbelt in anticipation.

As they agreed, Leon took over the wheel before they reached his house. It was a three-story house with a colonial facade and an American flag flying from the porch. Two cars were sitting in the garage and a third right behind them in the driveway. Leon drove right onto the grass stopping a few feet away from the front door. He hastily unbuckled himself and rushed to the front door.

Claire's heart pounded and she quickly followed suit. The door was locked and Leon banged on the door.

"Come on, come on, open up!" he said, in an aggressive voice that she had never heard him use before.

Clearing her throat, she gently touched his shoulder. "Maybe their still sleeping?"

"Sleeping? Sleeping?! How can they be sleeping? It's eleven o' clock in the fucking morning!"

"You don't need to cuss and carry on so." A voice from the other side of the door said.

A split second later, the door flew open and Claire was almost knocked over by the strong resemblance between Leon and the girl in front of them. She had longer, thicker, curly hair pulled back with a lavender headband but her eyes (perfect blue marred only by redness from abrasive tears) and cheekbones and lips were definitely Leon's.

"Oh, you brought someone with you." She said, giving Claire a smile. "Hi, I'm Leon's sister, Lanna Kennedy."

"Hi." Claire said, shaking her hand. "Claire Redfield."

Lanna nodded then released a heavy sigh. "Well. Come on in. Everybody's here."

"What do you mean 'everybody'?" Leon asked as they stepped down three steps and stood in a small foyer.

"Auntie Bertha and Uncle Montague."

They went through an open door way into a sunken living room. There was a slight racket at the sight of Leon and three girls with the same fire-red hair rushed toward him. Claire watched as Leon swallowed deeply, trying to hold back any signs of pain.

"We're so glad you came home!" One of the youngest of the group exclaimed.

"Of course I came home, kid." he said.

"Whose that?" said his other youngest sister.

Leon pulled away from his sisters looked in Claire's direction.

"This is my friend, Claire Redfield. Claire Redfield, meet my sisters, Leila, Lalaine and Lalique. I think you already know Lanna."

Claire managed a "hello" and stared wordlessly. She always knew there were resemblances in a family, but she could never tell. To her, a person never seemed to look like their mother or father, nor any of their siblings. They just looked... like themselves. But now, standing before her were four more (female versions) of Leon Scott Kennedy staring at her.

For a split second there was nothing but quiet, then Lalique--or Lalaine, they could have been twins-- said, "Leon never told us he had a girlfriend."

The situation was temporarily forgotten and Claire felt herself blushing profusely. "Well, I'm not. I'm not his--"

"Oh, don't be shy." Lanna shushed her. "You're the first girl he's ever brought to this house--at least to our knowledge."

"Hey, hey. It's not fair to tease." Leon said. "Especially now."

"Dad wouldn't want us to be sad--mom said so." said Lalique.

"I know, but--" Leon stopped in the middle of his sentence and spun around.

In the door way that led from the living room into the den was a woman with rich red hair that had signs of gray peeking out at the corners but a bright smile that hid how old she was.

"Ma..." Leon's voice caught his throat and he crossed the living room in three strides to give her a hug. It was then that he broke down. At first, it had seemed like Leon was whispering furiously at her, then his shoulders rose and fell and he was coughing violent. His deep voice came out in strangled gasps. "He wasn't supposed to die, mom. He was...he was men like him don't die! They don't die! They don't die!"

Mrs. Kennedy only nodded and bit her bottom lip. "It's okay, sweetie, it's okay."

"I should have been here! I could've saved him!" Leon went on, choking out the words. The Kennedy girls all huddled together, tears forming in their eyes again; Claire understood. The situation was bad enough, but seeing Leon, who she had thought was so unsinkable and strong...crying. It was almost too much.

"We shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves, honey." Mrs. Kennedy said, patting his back.

"I'm a _COP_, mom! They _train_ me to save people and I wasn't here to save my own _FATHER_!"

Claire swallowed hard and hugged herself tightly. She felt a tear of her own slid down her cheek; She didn't know what to do for Leon and even if she had, would it have been right to interrupt such a private family moment? Feeling a hand on her arm, she looked up. Leila smiled at her and cocked her head slightly to the doorway.

"There's coffee in the kitchen if you want some. You must be tired after such a long drive."

Claire nodded. "But...Leon--will he--"

"He'll be fine." Leila told her. "He's always...it's hard on all of us, you know, but...Leon was very close to dad. He just needs to talk with our mother for a little bit."

Hesitantly, Claire went through the side door and sat on a stool in the kitchen. Her heart fell again as she heard a loud sob from Leon and she grasped her hair in her hands, leaning on her elbows. The kitchen was fairly big with enough appliances to venture a guess that the family cooked a lot. She was sitting at an island bar in the middle of the kitchen, which everything revolved around. Lalique walked in to the kitchen, filled a glass with water, then walked out again. And Claire suddenly felt out of place. She had been so stupid, rushing into this. There was so much support in this house already... but how was she to know? She thought she was helping him by... She didn't plan on feeling like an interloper. Sighing heavily, Claire placed her head on her arms, leaning on the bar, suddenly feeling she should never have come.

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"I want to see him." Leon said. He was sitting on the couch, his sisters and mom were sitting in various chairs and rugs around him. "I wanna see dad."

Lanna and Leila looked at each other warily. "Don't look like that. You all got to see him, why can't I?" He swiveled around and looked at Mrs. Kennedy. "Mom."

"Stop it, you three." Was all she said. "If that's what you want... We can go after you freshen up--"

"No, I want to go _now_." He insisted.

"Leon, are you sure that's wise?" Lanna spoke up. "You're still very vulnerable--"

"I _want_ to see my father. You all may not want to see him while he's in a morgue but I care--"

"You think we don't care about dad?! He was _our_ father, too, ya know!" Leila jumped in.

"STOP IT." Their mother said. "You can't be acting like children now."

"Nevermind. I'll just see him at the funeral." Leon said grumpily. "When he's all made up in make-up that makes him look like a clown--you know, those people don't know what the hell they're doing--"

"Leon--"

"--they make them look completely different." Leon said. "Please, mom...don't make them put make up on him. Don't let them look different."

"I _won't_." She promised. She took a deep breath. "We'll go see him in a little bit, once you're rested and really up to it." She looked up. "In the mean time, why don't you go check on that nice girl of yours? You haven't said a word to her ever since you got here."

Leon's hand flew to his forehead. "Oh, God. Claire! I...I--" Leon got up from the couch. "Is she alright?"

"She's upstairs." Lalique said. "We told her she could rest in your room. Uncle Monte and Auntie Beth already have the guest room."

Leon turned and went up the stairs and down the hall. His room was at the end of hall and he went in. Claire was lying on his bed, sleeping soundly. He stood in the doorway, looking in on her and feeling a sense of nostalgia invade him. There was a headboard behind his bed with a built-in shelf, which held nothing but his most prized possessions: pictures of him with his father and mother, a foul ball he had caught at a baseball game and other miscellaneous things he had picked up.

Claire groaned a little then turned on her side, nuzzling the blue and green striped pillow. Leon breathed in the smell of his house and smiled. He was unbelievably grateful to her that she had taken him here. He didn't know how he would have gotten here if she hadn't... Not wanting to disturb her, Leon snuck out of the room and headed back down the hall. His intention was to go back down but the thought of throwing another fit of whining wasn't too appealing to him. Instead, the open door of his parent's room and he peeked in. The bed looked untousled, as if it hadn't been slept in. On the bed was an overnight bag with his father's clothes strewn around it. No doubt his mother had thought he would be coming back... he had those spells every now and then... Walking towards the bed, he gingerly touched the terry cotton robe stuffed into the bag. His father wore the robe all the time every time he was off for the day. Pulling it out of the bag, he held it close to his chest and took a deep breath. The scent of Irish Spring invaded his nostrils and he felt sick and alone. He had told himself over and over again that his father was gone but it still didn't seem real. He sank to his knees and swallowed hard, missing the man that he thought was the greatest superhero ever. Missing him so much he felt as if he himself were dying.