A.N: Hi...still don't own anything. Still writing the story, and still a little boring...it'll pick up in chapter 6
Blizrun - I have already contacted you on your review (as you know) but thank you again for reviewing, stay in touch
Sacharja - Thank you! And I apologise for all the character analysis crap stuff...I'm not very good at it. And I also apologise for the fact that yet another chapter is going to be like that...but fear not, next chapter we should get moving properely again. And Leon is in this chappy, so it's not all bad.
Chapter 5
Chris walked quickly to the outside gardens of the hospital and breathed in deeply, glad to get rid of the smell of bleach in his nose. Opening his eyes, he wandered around aimlessly for a moment and stared at the sky. The gardens were to the side of the hospital, away from the blinding lights of the rooms. The sky was clouded over a little, dark blue grey clouds obscuring the crescent moon, the background of the sky itself was black to his left, but over to his right, it was a strange terracotta colour, effects of the light pollution of the city.
The sound was mainly of passing cars still rushing by, the odd person's voice drifting over to him, a cat mewing somewhere in one of the nearby trees.
Despite the efforts of the people who created this garden, they couldn't get rid of the vile taint of human life, no matter how much they closed off this area. It made the garden a strange place, a mixture of solitude and privacy combined with the intrusive eyes of patients or animals.
Chris continued to stroll along casually, his eyes lazily searching for the well-built frame of Billy obscured by darkness.
"I'm here, Chris" a voice stated and Chris immediately recognized as Billy's. However, its rough edge was dulled down, giving him a defeated tone.
Turning to his left, he saw Billy sitting on top of a bench in front if him. Immediately, Chris headed towards the bench, and sat down next to him.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" again, that deflated tone sounded in Chris's ears.
"How do you know I want to talk to you about something?"
"You wouldn't be here otherwise…you'd be looking out for Leon"
"True"
Billy let his eyes stray to Chris's concerned face, and he lowered his gaze, not wanting to meet Chris's piercing eyes. The man had an uncanny ability for telling what he was feeling, and he hated being interrogated about his feelings, his only choice was to drive him away.
"Before we start…you're not going to get rid of me easily" Chris stated
"I thought I mightn't be able to deter you"
"I'm doing this for you, not me…you don't seem to realise that though"
"I know that….but I like to deal with my problems by myself"
"That doesn't always work…you've done it for most of your life and now you're so alone you can't even tell us the slightest problem"
Billy remained silent, and for a second Chris though he might have pushed too far, been too blunt. Billy in turn tried to think of a comeback…but couldn't.
"See…you know I'm right."
Billy's dark eyes flicked to Chris and for a second he contemplated jumping the man and throttling him into unconsciousness…but that probably wouldn't go down too well. Instead he gave a resigned sigh and slid down to sit on the bench properly and looked to Chris.
"Seen as I can't think of anything to say to get you to leave me in peace...what did you want to say?"
"It's a general consensus sooo…we're just worried about you, you're so much more serious than the rest of us and you never seem to lighten up."
"So I'm serious, big deal" Billy shrugged
"You're not just serious, you're down right depressing…we want to know what it is"
"You know full well what it is, my past, my relationships, my inability to trust….everything about my life that has been screwed up, either by me or someone else"
Chris watched as Billy spoke, the older man's eyes falling to the floor as he did, and Chris couldn't find anything to say to comfort him, because he knew that Billy was right. The man was brutal when it came to his own past and situations, he would state exactly what it was and unfortunately the harshness over those situations was never exaggerated. This meant that Chris couldn't even beat Billy back to reality and accuse him of being melodramatic, because he wasn't.
Chris sighed inwardly, disheartened by Billy's and Carlos's situations. Carlos was fighting for his life, and had everything to live for. Billy didn't have much to live for, in his eyes at least, except his friends and even when he looked at them they were so happy with their families that he felt they sometimes couldn't give him the time of day. Chris also knew that a lot of Billy's discouraged attitude was caused by Carlos's spiteful jeers towards him. Carlos was aware of exactly how to hit Billy where it hurt and so he did so often. Why he did it the rest of the group didn't know, but they were pretty sure that it had something to do with the fact that Rebecca, whilst being engaged to Carlos, still had a soft spot for Billy and was fairly close to him. To Billy and everyone else, Rebecca treated them all equally, even if she did have a liking for Billy she was always careful to keep herself distanced from him at times, especially when her fiancée was nearby.
Billy suddenly snorted, grabbing Chris's attention away from his mind wanderings.
"What's up?" he asked looking over at him, to see him gazing through a window into a patients room. While the gardens were designed to be out of the way of the patient's view, it was inevitable that there would be a few that looked out onto it.
"I really know how to pick my thinking spots, don't I?" Billy motioned with his head to the window. Chris leaned forward to glance past him into the room. He understood what Billy meant instantly. There, being lifted into the hospital bed was Carlos, having just been moved out of intensive care, despite the fact he had only been there for a little while. Rebecca was standing behind her colleagues, watching intently as Carlos was shifted onto the bed and he made himself comfortable. Within a few minutes of him being placed in the bed he was fully installed, the doctors and nurses filing out of the room, Rebecca going over to where Carlos lay, grasping his hand and smiling at him. He smiled back at her stroking her hand with his thumb, talking to her as he did.
"Well there you are, an example of my life being screwed up" Billy muttered. He looked away, glaring at the night sky, tugging the neck of his black turtleneck away from his throat slightly. He lowered his eyes back to normal level, and saw Chris watching him, concerned, he reached out, clasping Billy's shoulder to try and offer him support.
"Don't take it too hard…you can't change it now" Chris counselled. Billy nodded and then turned his head sharply when he saw headlights sweeping over the garden, from the car park.
"I think Leon may be here" he commented, standing up and pulling his sweater back into shape. "We better go see"
"Sure" Chris replied following suit and getting up, brushing any dirt away from his jeans that may have lingered on the bench.
As Billy turned to speak to his companion, the room which held Carlos caught his eye or rather, Carlos caught his eye. The Latin descended man was glaring up at him through the window, his eyes narrowed towards him, scrutinizing him fiercely. Rebecca had her back to the window, her face buried in Carlos's shoulder as she sat on the bed, next to him.
Billy tore his eyes away from Carlos's gaze, unnerved by the almost hatred that Carlos had exhibited towards him. Uneasy about it, Billy hastily turned back to Chris.
"C'mon" he muttered, stuffing his into the pockets of his jeans and shuffling away. Chris followed hesitantly, hanging back in his concern. He would have to see about Carlos when he next saw him, even if he was in a hospital bed.
Leon had driven as quickly as he could to the other side of Washington D.C to reach the hospital, he had taken every shortcut he knew, but he had still taken a fair amount of time to get there. He pulled up into the car park on the furthest side of the hospital, the white beam of the headlights sweeping over the gardens. Stepping out of the car, he slammed the door shut, tuning the key in the door to lock it. He stuffed the key into the pocket of his fleece jacket and strolled down to the pavement, walking along to the entrance of the hospital.
"Leon!"
Leon turned around to face the person who had called his name. Jogging up to him were Chris and Billy, both dressed in dark jeans and black turtleneck sweaters. They also both wore the same tired, drawn and slightly depressed expressions.
"So the mission went well then?" Leon asked as the pair drew level with him.
"Why do you say that?"
"You both look tired and depressed…I was being sarcastic"
"Uh-huh"
"So what happened?" Leon inquired turning back to walk to the entrance of the hospital, Billy and Chris at each shoulder.
"We'll tell you when we all get back home…now is not the time or place to discuss it" Chris said shortly
"Fair enough…where're the girls? And Billy said the info couldn't wait"
Chris was the one to answer "Jill and Claire are having a 'girl talk' and Rebecca is with Carlos"
"And I was clearly wrong about the info having to wait" Billy rolled his eyes, sniffing slightly
Leon grinned slightly at Billy, and continued to stroll towards the building.
It was a five minute walk, and the three men spent it in silence, each thinking about their own problems and situations.
Upon entering the waiting room, Leon saw Claire and Jill, sitting in the turquoise- green chairs, whispering childishly to each other. They looked up at the approaching men and finished their conversation quickly, plastering smiles onto their faces as the men raised an eyebrow each.
Seeing his expression, Claire leapt to her feet and charged at Leon, throwing her arms around her husband's neck, in the way a newly wed bride might.
"Leon!" she exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek and burying her head in his neck. Leon for his part merely chuckled and grasped her back, holding her against him.
"I take it you're ok, then?"
Claire nodded against his neck and continued to press herself to his body. Leon stroked her back with one hand, the other smoothing out her rumpled hair.
"What about you Jill?"
"Yeah, still a little dizzy but fine other than that" she informed Leon, grumbling slightly as she did. Seeing the look on his face that asked her to elaborate, she added "I got smashed in the head with a gun"
Leon nodded and sat down in the chair next to Jill, while Chris took up the other side, the one that Claire had been sitting in. Claire herself was curling up in Leon's lap. Billy was sitting to Leon's right, now absently playing with his dog tags, running his fingers over the engraved surface.
"I wish that we'd be allowed to see Carlos" Jill commented, and Leon felt Billy flinch a little at the mention of Carlos. He sighed inwardly at Billy's reaction.
"They might not let us in today, he's, what, been shot in the chest, right? So he's probably not going to be able to see us for a couple of days yet" Leon stated, waving his hand around importantly as he did.
"Leon…is there something you're not telling us?" Billy asked, out of the blue
"No…why?" Leon asked slowly, his forehead lowering as he tried to figure out what his friend meant
"It's just that your wrist seems very limp today" Billy finished with a grin
"HEY!"
"Knock it off you two!" Chris half-yelled, half-whispered at the now squabbling men
The two stopped and stared at Chris, as though they were brothers that had been caught trying to get in the cookie jar by their father.
"Sir! Yes! Sir!" Billy saluted towards Chris, who glared before rolling his eyes and going back to his magazine.
"Uh…guys" a timid, quiet voice attracted the groups attention, and they looked up to see Rebecca standing in front of them, wringing her hands nervously. "You're allowed to see Carlos for a few minutes, under the condition that you don't stress him out too much" she grinned as she said the last bit and rolled her eyes in the direction of a tall doctor standing, talking to one of the nurses. He appeared to be trying to get her to go on a date with him.
"You gonna show us where then 'Becca?" asked Claire from Leon's lap, yawning slightly.
Rebecca nodded and led the way, leading them down several winding corridors.
Billy followed the group reluctantly, trudging along at the back, his shoulders slumped, hands in his jeans pockets, head well and truly down. More than once on the short trip, he saw one of the others glancing back at him in an almost anxious manner. When they did, he noticed instantly, so he looked up at them and gazed back in an indifferent way, they quickly pulled their gazes away. Everyone looked back at least twice…except Rebecca.
The walk to Carlos's room was only about five minutes long, but to Billy, it seemed to take forever. Sickeningly white walls surrounded him, fluorescent lamps buzzing over head, humidity encompassing him, making him sweat beneath the black turtle neck and absently, he felt it running down his back. It all looked so cold and dead, the smell of sanitizers stinging his nose once again. The hospital reminded him of so much, three unpleasant memories merged into one, all inside these cramped, never ending corridors.
Buzzing lights… giant insects, humidity, wet, hot, cramped and dark, groans of the injured…calling for a doctor or nurse….jungle, mission, colleagues' betrayal, screams of the dying people, as the three other soldiers corralled and shot them…. A tray of surgical instruments crashing to the floor...machine gun fire, solid thuds as people hit the ground… the group walking briskly to the room, their footsteps heavy.
Billy tried desperately to pull himself away, before he had that image of his commander smashing him in the face with his gun. It worked for a second, and then he was plunged back in, somewhere different this time…never ending grey corridors, dimly light cells on either side of him as he was marched along by the guards…Leon and Chris were slipping their arms around his waist, supporting him, pulling him forward, the others staring at him…as he was taken outside and loaded into the jeep, judges words echoing in his mind…. 'Billy, are you ok?'… 'To be executed on arrival'… 'Come on, you can sit down when we get to Carlos's room'… dreams of being marched to a room, where he'd finally serve out his sentence.
Then he was back, in the hospital, being half dragged to a chair by Leon and Chris, and as Billy sat down, he realised he had never seen a place that reminded him of the Umbrella facility so much, and of course those memories came back too. But there had still been hope there, because Rebecca had been there and with him, now she was with the executioner on death row.
The memories and present had merged into one long confusing sequence, blending together, in a blur of death and suffering. He had thought, as a child, that he would never be more alone than when his mother had gone out and left him for hours at a time, or when he had spent his school breaks wandering around on his own. He was wrong; he had felt an inescapable depression at being sent to execution. He had had no hope then; his friends in the army had betrayed him, the only people who he had grown close to. But now, even that couldn't compare to his feeling of loneliness, and he realised that he really didn't trust them much at all…no, that wasn't true, he trusted Leon, Chris, Jill and Claire with his life and emotions. Rebecca, the only person who he had ever really been close to, had betrayed him. Now, he would trust Wesker more than he did Rebecca and Carlos…even though he wanted to trust Rebecca, he wanted to believe that she would be there for him…but how could she be, she was with Carlos.
Leon's arm was around his back, gently trying to comfort him, and Billy suddenly stood up, feeling uncertain about it, whether he could trust Leon now…every one else had let him down, why not Leon too?
"I'm o..Ok" Billy stammered out, moving away from the outstretched arm of Jill "I just…blanked out for a moment…just got reminded of" he paused and swallowed "death row, a little" he nervously laughed and grinned "long, blank corridors, you know?"
Leon and the others nodded, they had all seen prison and death row, the most unpleasant places in the world…second only to the former Umbrella corridors, or Raccoon city, when everyone had turned into zombies.
"You're ok now though?" it was Rebecca and Billy could barely look at her. She hadn't got the usual soft, melodic voice now, the perpetual cheerfulness. It wasn't filled with concern either, or tiredness. Instead, it was almost pure irritation, annoyance at Billy's behaviour.
"Uh-huh" Billy replied, head still down as he stared at the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rebecca glare at him, and she snorted, turned sharply on her heel, and continued to lead the way. Claire and the others exchanged glances, not expecting Rebecca to act like that. Putting her hand on his shoulder, Claire gently persuaded Billy to move, and, hesitantly, he walked with the rest to Carlos's room.
No-one could quite figure out why Rebecca had suddenly turned on Billy, the young medic was usually so easy going, cheerful and understanding, that they didn't think she had it in her to become almost disgusted with the man who, once upon a time, could have been her lover.
Billy returned to his sullen silence, his eyes still focused on the floor, and Jill felt a swell of pity for Billy, something she was sure everyone else felt too. She studied him carefully for a moment, then looked to Rebecca who was slowing to stand next to a door to Carlos's room.
Jill hung back as Rebecca walked in, followed by Leon, Chris and Claire, each of them looking sympathetically at Billy before they entered.
"You don't have to go in if you don't want to" Jill stated as Billy approached the door, she was sure that the expression Billy was wearing now, was identical to the one he wore when he had been loaded up into that military jeep, to be taken to his own execution.
Billy raised his head to glance at her, and he smiled weakly, a slight tugging at the corners of his lips.
"I know…but if I don't he'll get back at me for it…besides, he'll let me know if he doesn't want me there" with that said, Billy slipped into the room. Jill stood for a moment, gathering her thoughts; this was probably going to turn out to be a disaster.
Carlos looked up and grinned tiredly as his friends walked into the room behind Rebecca. Chris, Leon and Claire were there, and he was guessing Jill and 'the convict' were waiting outside. That suited Carlos fine, it would give him another chance to prove to Rebecca that he was the right choice, that she could be marrying him, Carlos Oliveira, and not have any feelings for ex-lieutenant Billy Coen. The guy had serious problems and Carlos didn't truly believe that Billy was innocent. His looks and the way he acted was the same as those men he had known while he was working for the U.B.C.S (Umbrella Bio-hazard Countermeasure Service), that had taken pleasure in killing. It was perfectly feasible to Carlos that Coen had murdered23 innocents; he believed that the man could easily do that.
"How you feeling Carlos?" Chris asked, stepping to the side of his bed, Claire next to him. Leon and Rebecca were standing on the other side of the bed.
"Not too bad…considering I've just been shot in the chest"
"Heh…I suppose that's a good sign…if it's not that you're becoming numb because of the bullet" Leon commented, laying a hand on Carlos's shoulder.
Carlos smiled back at him slightly, turning his attention to the door as it opened and produced a very anxious looking Billy and Jill. Carlos's smile disappeared the second Billy came in, and was replaced by an angry frown.
"Easy" Chris muttered to him, mimicking the stance Leon had taken, one hand on his shoulder, the other on the railing of the bed, gripping tightly, knuckles turning white.
Carlos ignored him, deciding to show Rebecca who was the 'better' man instead. "So…you've come to visit me Lieutenant Coen…how nice for me. I'll rest easy tonight in the knowledge that I'll be murdered in my sleep. After all, that's what you do isn't it?...murder helpless innocents"
Carlos felt Leon and Chris's hands tighten simultaneously on his shoulders. Billy for his part did nothing more than keep his gaze steady on Carlos's face. Claire and Jill began to look anxiously between the two men; Rebecca sat by his side, making no movement whatsoever.
"No answer…shows how intelligent you are, I suppose that's why you worked in the army…you're dumb" Carlos continued to goad Billy.
Billy didn't want to make the situation any worse than it was, but he couldn't help himself and replied with "I suppose we're even then…after all, you worked in the army too…oh wait...you were a mercenary originally, not even part of a real army"
Carlos brow lowered and his dark brown eyes locked with Billy's blue ones as he glared at him.
"I haven't murdered anyone"
"Is that what you call being a soldier…not murdering, last time I checked it was a soldiers job to kill. No matter what he was protecting, it's their job to kill"
"At least when I did kill I was protecting someone, instead of killing for sport"
Billy merely rolled his eyes, and looked out of the window.
"Awww…gazing at your precious thinking spot. Or were you just trying to get Chris alone? I've heard the affects if being locked up in prison without any company can leave a lasting need. Incidentally, how was the bromine?"
Billy snorted and clenched his fists, continuing to look away. Chris and the others looked at Carlos, he had never sunk to that level before, bringing up the conditions of being around members of the same sex for a year, because Billy was in prison was about the lowest he could go with his comments.
Carlos sneered at Billy's reaction, taking the action as a defeat. The rest of the group looked at Billy, waiting for his reaction, but the ex-serviceman did nothing but look out of the window for a moment. Finally, he turned back to the group's gazes and, giving a curt nod to them, stepped out of the room.
"Coward" Carlos muttered.
Jill shot an angry glare to Carlos, as did Claire and Leon. Jill hadn't trusted Billy when he first appeared, but she had learnt to, like Rebecca and everyone else had…except Carlos. The mercenary wasn't a bad guy, and she still cared for him, it was just she didn't expect or like one of her closest friends to treat another human being like that...especially not someone she found that truly was trustworthy. The fact that he was in hospital and recovering from an injury was no excuse, especially since Billy was the one who had pulled Carlos out, stopping him from getting injured further.
Rebecca, as before was completely silent, almost unblinking looking as though she was in a trance. Chris stared down at Carlos condescendingly.
Jill was about to try and sidle out of the room to comfort Billy, when a doctor came in. She sighed mentally, glad that she didn't have to make and excuse, muttered a slightly stony 'Goodnight Carlos… see you later' and exited through the door. Leon, Claire and left in much the same manner, Rebecca grudgingly following them, before running back to kiss him goodnight and then calling a cheery goodnight to him.
Carlos's eyes lowered then rose to the doctor, who was looking expectantly at Chris.
"Uhh…sir, I'm afraid you're going to have to leave now. Visiting hours finished long ago and the ward will be going to sleep soon" the doctor stuttered out, as he met Chris's gaze.
The elder Redfield sibling held the gaze almost challengingly, stone faced, then curtly announced "Of course. But I'm afraid that I must speak to Carlos with now, it's very urgent and it simply cannot wait until tomorrow. It'll only take a minute, I assure you."
There was so much command in Chris's voice, coupled with determination and the refusal to leave, that the poor doctor could barely look at Chris and mutter "Yes, I'm sure that a few minutes won't hurt" then scurry to the safety of one of the nurses.
Carlos looked up at Chris, concerned and confused, what was so important that he had to send his physician hurrying away, though he had a fair idea. Chris turned slowly, having watched the doctor leave, and stared at Carlos sternly.
"Chris…what's up?" he smiled, trying to brush away the uneasy feeling he got at Chris's looks. The blue eyed man leaned his hand on his friend's bed, one on either side of Carlos's waist and moved his face until he was staring directly into his eyes, mere centimetres away. The south-American fidgeted uncomfortably under Chris, for some reason getting the idea that this was not going to be good. Chris's piercing eyes narrowed towards him.
"Listen to me Carlos, and listen carefully, because I'll say this once only. You may be my friend, and a good one at that, but so is Billy. I don't like how you're treating him, and I won't stand for it, even if he does." He stared to let it sink in and then continued, almost growling "That man has risked his life for you, me, Rebecca, Jill, Claire and Leon in the two years we've known him. He has done nothing to you, but you treat him like dirt. This hospital bed will do nothing to protect you if you carry on. Your comment today was the lowest I've ever heard." Again Chris stopped to glare "The only person I've ever heard voice a comment as low as that is Wesker, and you know how I feel about him. I suggest you stop treating Billy like this. I don't expect you to treat him like your best friend, just civilly…OK? If you don't, I will make sure you know where I stand" Chris pushed himself away from Carlos and straightened up.
"You'd hurt me?"
"Do you remember what I did to Leon?"
Carlos nodded and shuddered "Well, it won't be as bad as that….but close. Billy doesn't deserve to be treated like that"
He turned and walked for the door. "Goodnight Carlos…remember what I've said"
Please keep reviewing...I'm trying to beat my friend Rosie at getting reviews...even though she hasn't even finished her first story...but, whatever.
Any suggestions for the story etc, anything that you would like to see included, review or e-mail me and let me know. As always reviews are greatly appreciated