She was running through the chaotic streets of Raccoon City. The hordes of undead tailing right behind her with their horrid growls and that putrid smell of the dead. She had run out of ammo, which meant that if she got cornered, she was in trouble.

She had gotten separated from Leon, and she did not even know if the young man was still alive at all.

Claire took a turn and found herself cornered; it was a dead-end, and she had no bullets. The horrid cannibal monsters were moving slowly to her.

It was it; this was her end.

Claire woke up, startled, and she felt the sun rays coming through the holes in the ceiling, hit her on her face. Her breathing was agitated, and she took some seconds to recover.

She hated those nightmares. They were a recurrent thing, but it had been a while since she dreamt of Raccoon. The city where everything began vanished. With the years, the memories from the place had gotten buried under fresher incidents. Her nightmares were often about nonsense or about places she had visited more recently.

Claire looked around her, remembering where she was. It was morning already, and Leon did not wake her for the shift.

She was slightly annoyed, but at the same time, she was grateful. She knew Leon had done it to let her recover.

She stretched and grabbed her head. The pain was still there, but it was significantly lesser, and her vision was back to normal, too, which meant the effects of the hit were starting to pass.

"Hey, good morning, sleeping beauty," Leon greeted her, and she rolled her eyes.

Claire had forgotten how much of a charmer Leon was when it came to dealing with ladies. Their interactions were on the friendly side, and he had long stopped using his flirty tones on her, so it was the first time in years that she heard him use that tone with her.

"Good morning, cheater," she answered, "I thought we agreed you would wake me up for a guard shift."

Leon snorted.

"I tried, but you just fell asleep again."

"I...I did?" Claire answered in shock.

"Yeah, after saying you wanted ten more minutes," Leon smirked, "Besides, you looked to be enjoying yourself. When was the last time you had a good night of sleep?"

When was it? Claire tried to remember when was the last time she had slept more than three hours without interruptions, but she couldn't remember. Between nightmares and work, she had skipped a lot of sleeping hours in the last few months. Naturally, Claire would not tell him about that.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am just asking," he replied, shaking his head. "You just looked like you had not slept well in a while."

"Well, I hardly think that sleeping in a dilapidated cottage surrounded by mutant monsters can be considered a good sleep."

Leon snorted.

"Anywhere is a good place when you are exhausted," he reasoned.

Claire was not going to argue that. She had to admit that even though it had not been the best sleeping in her existence, she had rested nicely that night. She was not in her best shape, but at least she would not be as useless now.

"I am not discussing my sleep patterns with you, Leon," Claire sighed. "We should head out and try to find a way out of here."

"Yeah, but first, let me see your head."

Claire did not argue, and she allowed the agent to check her. After some minutes, he stood and helped Claire on her feet. The auburn headed accepted his hand and pushed herself up. She tested her stability and was rejoiced to see that she wasn't dizzy anymore. However, her head still hurt, and if she made the wrong move, she was sure she would stumble.

"How is your head?" Leon asked.

"Stingy, but alright. I am ready to go."

"Are you sure? I think we can afford some minutes if you need them."

"No, I'm ok. Let's move."

"Ok. I tried to contact Hunnigan several times yesterday. My signal still has interference, but I think I managed to connect. She might be able to track our location, and I am sure your dear brother will be here soon."

"Yeah, with the big guns, I supposed."

"I just hope he won't use them against me."

"Nah, not even Chris is that unreasonable, and if it makes you feel better, I can talk on your behalf," Claire chuckled, "he usually listens to me."

"I bet he does."

"Alright, then. We must try to stay in one piece until then," Claire reasoned, "We can try to gather supplies as we go, but I don't think our captors have left ammo lying around for us."

"One never knows," Leon said, checking his gun, "So, just like old times?"

"Yeah, I guess you don't get the pleasure of going solo this time, superagent," Claire smirked, picking her rifle and walking out.

"I have no complaints about my partner," she heard Leon mutter behind her.

The place looked a lot different in daylight. Compared to other places she had been, Claire was pleased to see a change of scenery. The sight of trees, grasslands, and the fresh air was a nice change from the acrid air of tunnels and underground facilities.

"Oh, that's right," Claire said, "The locals here..."

"Yeah, they are infected by an improved strain of Plagas."

"An improved strain of Plagas?" Claire said.

"Hum, yeah. I had the pleasure of dealing with it some years ago, during a mission in the East Slav Republic. Aim at their heads, but be careful since some of them can mutate after being destroyed."

"I guess that makes sense. I thought the symptoms looked familiar, but I couldn't quite connect them to anything I knew," Claire nodded, "I guess you've been busy, Leon."

"I could say the same about you."

Claire chuckled. They all had been busy. Chris and the BSAA were always fighting in the frontlines when an attack came, while Leon and the DSO worked diligently tracking terrorists, as well. Claire wondered if she would ever get to spend a day with her family and friends like any other person.

"What can I say? Work is a demanding boyfriend," Claire shrugged.

"Well, you sure have a singular taste for your boyfriends. Have you not thought of getting a real one for a change?"

Claire snorted at the suggestion. Getting a real boyfriend was something she had long given up. Her work demands rarely gave her free time, and what was the point of having a relationship when she had no time to dedicate to it?

"I am fine. I never had a real one when I was young, and the Racoon City mess just put an end to any attempts. It doesn't matter."

"You didn't have a boyfriend before this began? Somehow I find that hard to believe."

"Really? Why?"

"When I met you, you looked like the kind of girl that any guy would chase around."

"Oh, well. I suppose there were guys interested, but if Chris didn't chase them away, it was my personality who spooked them."

"Chris scared off your potential guys?"

"Yeah, something like that, but it wasn't all his fault. I played my part, scaring some, too. "

"I can't see how you would do that."

Claire snorted.

"Please, Leon. Honestly, I am surprised you were not scared the first time we met. What guy feels comfortable with a tomboyish girl who handles guns and fights as I did?"

"I think that was what I liked most from you..." Leon answered sincerely. "You were not of those girls who waited for someone to save her."

"Well, I guess you have a weird taste, as well," Claire laughed, "Besides, my luck with men sucks. Either they get killed, or they turn out to be traitors..."

Claire sighed. Why was she telling him this? Leon had no interest in that, but surprisingly, she found that telling him these things was easy.

"What do you mean with that?" Leon asked curiously, "Any ex-boyfriend that I haven't heard of?"

Claire stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him skeptically.

"Leon, you can't be talking seriously."

"Why not? I'm trying to catch up. It's been ages since we had a casual conversation," Leon said, "When was the last time we talked about something that was not related to a mission?"

He was right. Even their friendly calls ended up being about their missions and their jobs. They rarely talked about anything outside of that. They had crossed paths in one or two of the BSAA meetings, but they had never stopped to chat about things outside their work.

"So, ex-boyfriends?"

"None," Claire sighed, "I met a couple of nice guys once, but they got killed in an outbreak. Then years later, I met this colleague at TerraSave. I thought he was a decent guy, but it turned out he was selling us as guinea pigs to Alex Wesker in exchange for a sample of Ouroboros. As I said, my luck with men sucks."

Leon didn't answer. He continued to listen to her as she spoke.

"Looking at the bright side, Chris gets to brag about being the only man in my life."

"That's a lie," Leon said, "You have other men in your life."

"I suppose I might, but I have morals, Leon. I can't call someone taken as my man," Claire chuckled, "What about charmer?"

"What about me? I guess I am the same as you. My job is a demanding girlfriend."

"Really? There I thought you would have made some progress with Ada."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Ada and I have a different kind of relationship."

"Yeah, right. That's what you call it."

Claire chuckled in amusement at Leon's look. She knew those two had something between them. That was the main reason why Claire had given up the idea of getting together with Leon in the first place. Even if she had a crush on him back then, Leon's thoughts were always about Ada, and she could not compete against that.

"Oh, Leon..." Claire said, looking ahead.

Leon looked as well and gave her a silent nod. The two jumped into some bushes and stayed low as a group of infected locals walked past them. To their relief, none of the infected noticed them, and so far, there had been no signs from the mutant creatures that Claire had met the night before.

"I think the wisest move now is to avoid conflict unless it is necessary," Leon said.

"I am with you with that. You'll want to save your bullets for the big ones," Claire nodded, looking at him.

"Big ones?" Leon asked with a frown.

"Yeah, nasty things. They took me by surprise yesterday, and I blew up the town in panic. The explosion was a little bigger than I thought, but well, I was desperate, and I wasn't thinking clearly."

"I didn't meet any last night," Leon said, "but I trust your word, any idea of what it is?"

"Nope. I've never seen anything like it. I dare say it might be a new strain. I guess we get the privilege to test them."

"What an honor," Leon said sarcastically. "Alright, so plan. We need to figure out the terrain, so I think we should try to find a good vantage point to look at what we are facing. There's a rocky cliff in that direction, do you see it?"

"Yup, I do."

"I hope you are in the mood for hiking."

"Leon, if you know me the way you say you do, you'll know I'll never be in the mood for hiking."

Leon smirked.

"But I'll do what I've got to do."

"That's the spirit," he said, "Don't worry. I can carry you if you get tired."

"Excuse you. I might dislike hikes, but I don't need anyone to carry me."

"Of course. It's nice to see that good old Claire is still there."

"The old Claire has always been here," she said, winking at him. "Just improved..."

And broken, too.

Claire followed Leon as he led her through the forest. She was not usually the kind to follow the lead quietly, but she did not feel the energy to act on her own now. There was some comfort in Leon's company that gave her a sense of reassurance. It was a similar feeling to what she felt when Chris was nearby.

The thought was naive and perhaps a little silly, but something about having them close always made Claire feel like nothing could ever harm her. Realistically speaking, it was nonsense, but psychologically, it was something different.

"Strange..."

Leon's whisper pulled Claire out of her thoughts. The woman looked at the agent, who was standing protectively by her side.

"I expected more hostiles, but we've barely encountered some Plagas infected. Don't you find it odd?"

Claire pondered the question. He had a point. Things were unusually calm compared to the hell she had faced the night before. It was almost as if daylight had brought them some peace.

"Well, it is a very different scenario from last night," Claire agreed, "Perhaps they are more active at night."

It was a wild guess, but it was the only excuse she could come up with to explain it.

"That's not a common trait when it comes to Plagas, but you might be right," Leon reasoned, "Well, then maybe we should restrict our moves to daytime. It might slow us down, but between speed and safety, I vouch for the latter. Especially if there's limited ammo in the equation."

Claire nodded. Moving in the daylight had its other benefits too. They had better visibility so they could avoid hostiles with more ease, and if the lack of the nasty monsters was a hint, then maybe they were indeed safer during the day.

"Yeah, that might be the best," she sighed.

"Don't worry. We'll make it out of this one."

"Yeah, I know," she nodded, "Leon..."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

That caught Leon by surprise. The blonde turned to look at her quizzically, and she smiled at him weakly.

"What for?"

"Eh, well. I don't know. For being here now, I mean," Claire said shyly, "I suppose it was hard to reach me, and you didn't have to, yet...you are here."

Leon looked at her and smiled, shaking her head.

"Don't be silly," he said, "You don't need to thank me for that. If it hadn't been me, it would have been your brother, but neither of us would let them take you away so easily."

Claire smiled. He was right. Chris would never stand doing nothing while she was getting kidnapped.

"Yeah, you might be right."

Leon put his hand on her shoulder, and she found the touch comforting.

"I wanted to ask you," he said as they began to walk again, "Do you have any idea of what they would want to kidnap you?"

That was a good question. Claire wasn't sure herself.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she sighed. "I receive a lot of hate mail, so maybe it is someone who holds a grudge against me. I don't know. It could be someone targeting Chris, too. Both of us have rubbed some people the wrong way for a while."

Leon didn't reply. He walked lost in his thoughts, and for a moment, Claire wondered about what he was thinking.

That's none of your business, Claire.

Claire shook her head and kept on walking behind him, pushing the thoughts away.