"Someone looks like she had a good few days off," Elena mentioned with a grin.

Aria sat in her seat at the nurse's station and put away her purse. Indeed she did. It was a shame her time off seemed to end so soon. Checking the computer, she noticed a message from Ethan in her inbox, asking for her to come to see him when she got in. The message was dated an hour ago, so Ethan was still in. Aria turned in her seat towards Elena.

"Do you care to cover for me for a few minutes? Ethan is here and is asking to speak with me," she asked.

Elena shook her head in agreement. Before Aria left the station, she gave the said woman her charts and rushed down the hall towards Ethan's office. Knocking on the door, she waited for him to allow her inside, sitting in the seat in front of his desk as he finished up a call.

"How are you feeling this afternoon?" He asked.

Aria puckered a brow.

"I'm fine."

Ethan cleared his throat and linked his fingers, resting his hands on top of his crowded desk.

"Look … I know this has been rough for you; it's been rough for me too, but these accusations you have against me are too much," he explained.

Aria narrowed her eyes. What in the hell was Ethan talking about?

"I'm not following."

"I heard from Elena that you think I tampered with patient files, particularly Martin Websters," Ethan explained.

Sure she had her theories, but she never told Elena about them. Something wasn't right about this. Unless the said woman went to Ethan with a lie – Aria doubted that she'd do that, however – then he had no reason to question her.

"I never called you out, and the only time I spoke to Elena about Mr. Webster was in regards to his son," Aria explained.

"And why is that? It was done explained to the staff that body was not claimed by his relatives, so it was sent to be cremated. Do you not understand that is the protocol?" Ethan asked.

Aria felt her annoyance for the man rising. She tried to calm down, but her face was heating up and her fingers were buried in the seat beneath her.

"I do understand, but the number to reach his son was in his file and the right thing to do is to tell him that his father will be cremated if he doesn't come to claim the body."

"Which I believe you attempted to do already, yes?" Ethan asked.

Aria took a deep breath and nodded. Technically yes, but his son didn't know he was set to be cremated immediately after his death. It was as though the hospital was trying to hide something by disposing of the bodies.

"Then leave it be," he insisted.

Clearing his throat, Ethan gave her a concerned look.

"I'm only trying to give you some clarity, Aria. You are a damn good nurse, but I'm worried these attacks are starting to scare you a bit. And your husband says you've been jumpy at home."

Wait. What?

"You called Albert?" She asked in annoyance.

"I spoke to him on the phone before you came in," Ethan answered back.

Was he fucking serious? What reason did he have to involve her husband? And why did Albert tell him that?

"That's why I feel it's in your best interest to take some time off, perhaps see someone about your concerns," Ethan furthered.

Aria shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't need to see someone; I'm fine."

"Please Aria. It's just for a few days. You can work the weekend shift with Kathy but rest until then," he insisted.

Hot tears stung her eyes, but Aria nodded and excused herself, leaving the room. It was so hard to contain her feelings. She returned to the station and frowned as one of the weekend shift nurses was in her seat; Elena was most likely doing rounds, so Aria grabbed her purse and fled to the parking lot. Once she was in her car, she began to sob.

"Fucking conceited asshole. I didn't do anything wrong," she cried as tears poured down her face.

Her fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white and her skin burned from the friction. Aria was so mad. She was pissed at Ethan for being a liar and pissed at Albert for airing her fears like a basket of dirty laundry. Fuck them. She was in serious need of a drink.

Clearing the tears from her eyes, Aria started her car and tore from the parking lot. She headed south towards the clock tower, then down to Raccoon Street towards the suburbs. Her nose was pouring once she pulled into the driveway of her house, but she didn't care how unpleasant she appeared. She slammed her car door shut upon getting out and stormed into the house, not caring to lock the door. Aria tossed her purse somewhere and went to the fridge for a bottle of wine; she had an idea in mind and wanted to ease into a drunken state, not get sloshed in under an hour like shots of whisky often did to her. Once she poured herself a glass, she retired to her bedroom and sat at the computer desk, turning on the Power Mac.

Using the internet, Aria searched for newspaper articles in the area, including all of Arklay County for the past month. She located the article about the first victim, the woman who was found in Cedar, and read that her remains were cremated in Stone Ville. Aria wrote down the number for the crematorium and searched for the report on the next victim; he too was cremated according to the newspapers. How strange. She made notes as she drank her wine, leaving the computer only to pour another glass.

Mr. Webster was the most recent victim. Besides being found inside the city limits, he too was cremated. Aria didn't believe for one second that each one of them was unclaimed, so then why did the hospital choose not to bury their bodies? Was the damage too much? There was always the option to have a closed casket funeral. So, what was she missing? Aria wrote down a series of questions for herself, a few were easy to answer, but most of them needed to be looked into; something her hazy mind was having trouble doing at the moment.

The clock near her bedside table read ten after nine; she left the hospital at around six. Aria yawned. She was a bit tired. Clicking on another link, one dated back in March, she read that two campers went missing in the mountains and had not been seen since. Was this the first murder? The remains were never found, so dogs could not have been the reason for their disappearance. Every clue was pointing to the mountains. Something was in the woods, dogs or other, and no one was doing anything about it. Aria made a note to look into the March disappearances and logged out of the computer.

She took her glass to the kitchen, located her purse on the floor, and checked her phone. She had a missed call from Albert and a message from Elena. Choosing to ignore them, Aria returned to the bedroom and crawled into bed. She wasn't sure how she'd react once Albert got home, but inebriated, she was liable to say whatever was on her mind. A nap would do her some good. However, she was unaware of how long she'd sleep.

Albert pulled into the driveway around sundown and parked next to Aria. He was aware that she'd be home and that she'd be pissed at him; Ethan called and reported the transaction, though Albert was annoyed a great deal that the said man brought him into the situation to prove a fact to Aria, which he failed to do besides set her off no doubt. She didn't call or text him when she got home, so he knew she was beyond reasoning. In a way, he was dreading going into the house, but he knew the situation would go unchanged if he didn't settle it. Pulling the concerned husband card was an angle he knew too well. Only he wasn't certain how mad she was.

Taking out his keys, Albert inserted them into the slot, but the knob turned with ease, so he knew Aria came in without locking the door. Considering how frightened she was of the monsters in the forest, he immediately knew Aria was not herself. Another clue was the partially empty wine bottle on the kitchen counter she left for him to see; she only drank when she was upset or in need of a good rest. He groaned in annoyance and poured the rest down the sink. Going into the bedroom, he found her on the bed asleep, still in her work clothes.

Good, he thought. Arguing with her was not at the top of his to-do list at the moment.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Albert took off her shoes and tucked them beneath the table. He made sure Aria was covered up before he stood. As he was nearing the door, he noticed the computer chair was pushed away from the desk and puckered a brow. What was she doing on the computer? On the desk was a scrap of paper with a number and some notes on it, regarding the string of murders. Was she investigating them? Albert tossed her a heated look.

Why do you insist on ignoring me?

He thought about throwing her notes away, but he knew it wasn't the best course of action to take. Albert would let her have her moment for now. He memorized the number, set on checking into it later, and retreated to his study. Turning on his computer, he logged into his email. The message he sent out at work was answered, but not to his liking.

The mansion is a mess; clean-up isn't going well, but at least the T-001 and 002 are still in containment, it read.

Albert hummed. He shut down his computer in annoyance and leaned back in his chair. Little by little Umbrella's dirty secrets were coming into the light. How long would it be before the world learned about their experiments? How long would it take Aria to link them back to him?

Albert wasn't sure. But he did know that if he didn't derail Aria soon, she would be the next person to go missing. To keep her from an early grave, or as Umbrella's next test subject, he'd do whatever he could to stop her. Even if he had to put her someplace she could do no harm. He had a few ideas; he'd let her get close to the truth, enough so that she could taste it, then he'd turn it all around on her.

As I'm looking over the notes for Black Wedding - my Albert Wesker story - I realized I have no sure ending for the series. I have two ideas I want to do, but I'm curious on which one to go with. The sequel takes place during the Kijuju Incident in Africa. So, without spoiling the ending, I'll try and summarize my thoughts.

1. Aria joins the BSAA, unaware that Wesker is alive, and deals with the fact Chris has lied to her and that her marriage with Wesker was a lie. This basically was an excuse for me to write Aria as a badass medic.

2. She remains a civilian and is tossed into the events of RE5 as a hostage. Again, she doesn't know Wesker is alive or that Chris has lied to her. This has a saucy beginning, features angst and betrayal, and has an interesting ending.

I'd appreciate the feedback. Also, I have plans to write an origin short for Wesker and Aria showing how they met. Thank you.