Hearing that her beloved older sister was awake made Daniela squeal with joy. Not thinking too long or too hard, completely forgetting about the man still holding her in his gentle embrace, the goofy redhead dispersed into her swarm, making Ethan stumble back in shock as her loudly buzzing blowflies that were flesh and bone mere seconds ago fluttered away, carrying her summer dress along.

Bela giggled at the man's baffled expression. Ethan quickly recovered his bearings and scoffed in annoyance. Feeling a solid body disperse into hundreds of flies right underneath your hands was an unusual experience, to say the least. Somehow he felt this would not be the last time that happened, either.

"Does she do this often?"

Bela just hummed and nodded, eyes sparkling in mirth. Ethan sighed in resignation and joined the blonde woman's side. The way the woman gazed at him now made the man's heart skip a beat. Her soft amber orbs seemingly held nothing but affection for him.

Surprising the man, she quickly but gently took his larger hand into her own dainty one. She didn't break eye contact as she spoke, her voice and expression as serene as ever.

"Just when I think I've seen the extent of your kindness… you surprise me yet again, Ethan. How gentle you were towards Daniela… how caring… You gain nothing by comforting my sister, yet you are eager to do it all the same...why?"

Ethan gazed back into her depthless eyes as he answered with genuine empathy in his voice.

"Why wouldn't I, Bells? I lose nothing by doing it, either and if I can put a smile back on her face, that's all the reason I need. That poor girl has been through enough already."

Bela squeezed his palm and Ethan once again marveled at how soft and warm her own hand was. How pleasant it felt on his skin. She just kept staring at him, her full lips once again testing his restraint. The man felt something at the back of his mind nudge him forward. As if some disembodied voice yelled at him, through the deep, muffled water. He couldn't make out the words, but the meaning was clear, nevertheless. It screamed at him to act, to lean in and claim his prize. And how tempting it was to just follow along and smash his own lips against the ethereal, golden haired beauty.

Her keen amber eyes were watching him carefully, as well, as if aware of his inner turmoil. She respected him too much to make the first move, yet did nothing to dissuade the man from making it on his own. Her pink lips parted slightly, as if inviting him…

Instinctually, he wanted to do nothing more than to give in to the overwhelming desires he felt in this moment. Rationally, his mind was quick to remind him of all the years the man spent with his wife, Mia. Their joyful, carefree early days together. How much he had gone through for her, in Louisiana. How happy they were, when Rosie was born. Mia's smiling face brought him out of his trance-like state. A small, muffled sigh of disappointment echoed across the recesses of his mind.

Shut the fuck up, Eveline.

Ethan cleared his throat and sheepishly continued his previous argument. Bela's own yellow eyes lost a little bit of spark at that. Her parted lips let out a tiny, barely audible sigh of her own, before closing.

"Uh… as for offering to help Dani to control that inner beast of hers...well, I think I have a personal interest in it, to be honest. I am likely going to spend a considerable amount of time in her immediate proximity, after all..."

The blonde woman just giggled softly at that, before motioning with her head towards the hallway. If she was feeling any disappointment from the previous interaction, her neutral voice didn't show it.

"That's true. Well…I am going back to Cassandra, I'll understand if you'd rather be somewhere else…"

Ethan just shook his head, as he mumbled out: "I told you Bells, we are all in this mess together now. As far as I am concerned she is an ally who took a grievous injury fighting our common foe. The least I can do is to thank her in person for her actions."

Bela hummed, satisfied with that answer. Her next two words sounded playful.

"Shall we...?"

Ethan realized with a start that she still held his hand, and wasn't planning on letting go, just yet. Despite her clear respect for the boundaries that have been established, Bela was becoming more and more possessive of the man. Winters saw no harm in this small gesture of friendship, however and just nodded and followed the woman out, towards the sickbay.

Ethan felt slight discomfort from the curious gazes that were directed their way by a couple of crewmen, but it was paid tenfold by the comfort he received from merely holding her hand like that. Like they were a couple of uni sweethearts...

As they got to Cassandra's room, Bela finally but reluctantly let go of his hand, though not before the very-much awake brunette flashed her eyes across their entwined digits. Ethan wanted to wince at the glare she leveled against him in the next moment. Even bedridden with multiple broken bones still healing, the fiery middle child was fearsome to behold.

Daniela was gushing over her bandaged form, excitement and joy plain in her features. Ethan grinned as he saw the ditzy redhead's feet in a pair of white hospital slippers now. Daniela was so eager to see her sister awake again, the lack of footwear simply didn't register in her mind until she felt the cold tile floor of this sickbay.

"Oh, Cassi! I am just so glad that you're okay! I swear I will never call you Crassandra again!"

Cassandra yellow's eyes were burning holes in Ethan's forehead as she responded to the redhead hoarsely, clearly still in some discomfort from the massive trauma sustained.

"You better not, you pipsqueak. Else I am gonna give you a noogie you won't soon forget!"

Daniela giggled uncontrollably at that, even as her eyes were wet with tears of joy. The redhead rushed to embrace Cassandra, but remembered that her sister was still badly injured and restrained herself at the last moment, giving her a gentle and soft hug, instead.

Ethan hasn't seen too many interactions between Cassandra and Daniela so far, but his face surely had a dumbfounded expression at hearing that playful sisterly banter and undisguised affection. The contrast the sisters provided with their varying behavior just kept on shocking the man. Any outside observer would never be able to connect these two loving sisters with a sadistic murderer and a feral man-eater.

Naturally, the serene setting couldn't last. Still glaring at him balefully, Cassandra addressed Bela in a clearly frustrated tone. Daniela, feeling in the way, backed off slightly.

"I see you're dragging your little man-thing everywhere you go now, sister. How quaint."

Bela clearly wasn't happy at the tone or the choice of words, but she still replied calmly.

"Ethan is not my man-thing, Cassandra. He is a trusted ally and a dear friend who has provided our family with vital aid, multiple times, despite our atrocious deeds. It would do you justice to show him a measure of respect, sister dearest."

Resentment was clear in Cassandra's tone now.

"Respect? For a miserable human? Surely you're jesting, sister. He is naught but prey. Food." The brunette curled her lips in distaste before continuing her thought. "Or, in your case, entertainment, I suppose."

Daniela gasped at that. Her eyes widened in confusion and distress as they jumped to and fro the people in the room. She didn't want any fight to start now…

This was supposed to be a happy moment…

Ethan was distressed himself. He really felt like he had won some respect with Cassandra after their sparring session. Somehow the notion that she still viewed him as less than dirt hurt no less than the actual pain she inflicted upon him that day. Still, he would not just stand silent and listen to this...

Bela kept her calm expression but started to boil inside.

I promised myself that I would be patient and understanding with Cassandra...but this is crossing the line... I can't let her take her pain out on Ethan.

"Cassandra! You…"

The elder sibling was interrupted by a gentle hand on her shoulder.

The man in question didn't expect Bela to defend him from her own sister like that. Nevertheless, even if he appreciated the notion, if Ethan ever wanted to get anywhere with Cassandra, he couldn't hide behind Bela. The brunette herself made that clear. The man knew that the fiery middle child respected only strength. He spoke in a neutral voice, determined to prove his worth himself.

"It's alright Bela, I can fight my own battles…"

Cassandra instantly exploded at that, interrupting and shocking Ethan. Spittle went flying everywhere as she roared in rage.

"YOU SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH, WORM!"

Everyone was stunned into silence by her sudden outburst. Letting out a couple of deep breaths to calm down a bit, the brunette continued, her hateful yellow eyes glaring into man's own.

"I see I have gone too easy on you in our little spar! Perhaps, I should've taken that disgusting man-tongue of yours! Maybe I should rectify that mistake now!"

Ethan was terrified (not that he would ever admit that to anyone) when she actually made a motion to get up from her bed, but fortunately for him, her still broken body had other plans and she promptly collapsed right back to it, hissing in pain and embarrassment.

Daniela held her small palms to her mouth, her eyes wide in horror. Ethan realized he had read the brunette completely wrong, and the issue that caused her incredibly hostile behavior was something else… The man wisely kept quiet.

"Cassandra Dimitrescu! Have you no shame!? This man you so unjustly lash out against has risked his own life to save Daniela! Is this how you repay him? By humiliating and threatening him? Just because your own crippling insecurity demands it?"

Bela's authoritative tone left little room for argument. Every pair of eyes were on the golden-haired woman now, except Cassandra's, who turned her head away, towards the wall. The elder sister continued, but in a softer voice now.

"Did you think we would love you any less because you've been bested and someone else saved the day for once? Do you believe that Ethan would take your place in the family now? That you would be no longer needed or wanted?"

Ethan cursed himself as it took him so long to finally understand why the fierce brunette lashed out with such hatred. Her pride as the strongest Dimitrescu was wounded even more than her mauled body. Her status as the protector of the family was threatened by him. And that was something she just couldn't abide…

Bela, now completely tranquil once again, slowly approached Cassandra's bed and leaned down, gently turned her sister's head towards her and placed a loving kiss on her tattooed forehead. The blonde woman cooed at her injured sibling with nothing but affection.

"My dear sister… no matter what happens, nobody could replace you in our hearts… You will always have a place at our side. You don't need to take your pain on others to prove your strength to us."

Ethan was shocked to see tears glistering in Cassandra's own eyes now. He never expected to see her crying, of all people. The injured woman spoke quietly, barely audible to the man.

"What good am I, if we have to rely on a human to save us, sister? I was supposed to protect mother...to protect Daniela… and then I got my own fucking ass handed to me..."

Her words were laced with resentment, towards herself this time. The blonde sister continued, even as she ran her hand through Cassandra's dark hair.

"It's not a sign of weakness to ask for help from time to time, Cassandra. Even the strongest of us cannot take on the world alone... We never faced foes like the ones we are up against now. None of us could ever hope to prevail against them by ourselves. But no matter the odds, I know that we can win, if we work together, as a team. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, all we have to do is to make our play according to them."

Ethan felt her words strongly resonating with him, as well. The man was genuinely impressed by how well Bela handled her menace of a sister. Daniela likely felt similar, as her jittery eyes jumped from one sister to another, switching from adoration for Bela to unconditional love for Cassandra. The brunette moved her head back towards the wall, Bela releasing her quickly to accommodate the motion. Cassandra spoke no further. Her older sister's soft voice was heard once again, instead.

"We should let Cassandra rest; her body is still greatly weakened by the ordeal she went through. I wish you a swift recovery, sister. And I also wish that you would remember that no matter what happens, we would still love you."

Daniela nodded vigorously, and spoke with passion.

"Bela is right, Cassi! Even if you're a little mean sometimes, I am still so happy to be your sister! We will beat these evil men and save mother and we can all be happy together, once again! I just know it!"

Cassandra just scoffed and responded in a seemingly frustrated voice. Her pale lips with a small smile on them and quiet sniffing betrayed her true feelings to everyone present, though.

"Fine, fine... just leave me alone. I am tired and your annoying voice hurts my ears."

Both sisters gave the injured woman one last fond glance and moved out of the room with measured steps. Ethan lingering just for a second longer. Somehow he felt his respect growing for the crippled Dimitrescu. The viciousness with which she grasped at her place as the protector reached deep into his own soul.

As he turned to follow the siblings, a single hoarsely-spoken word stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Wait."

Looking back towards the brunette's bed, the man found her staring back at him, her face locked in a pensive look. She chewed on her lip, as if not sure about whether to speak out or to keep silent.

Seeing her troubled expression, something that was distinctly not a 'Cassandra' look, the man approached her, with little hesitance. She took the opportunity to slowly grab his forearm with her own bandaged hand. The man almost laughed at that motion. Her previously bone-crushing grip was so feeble now that he had no doubt that he would be able to effortlessly break out of it. He didn't. A few tense moments of silence passed as she kept nibbling on her lip. Finally, she spoke, so quiet that he had to struggle to hear it.

"Daniela means the world to me… Thank you."

She let go of his hand, and once again turned her head away. Clearly, the conversation was over. The man couldn't help but give a small smile at this unexpected turn of events. He responded softly and respectfully, not wanting to further embarrass or antagonize her.

"You're very welcome, Cassandra."

She just huffed and Ethan took it as his cue to leave. Before exiting her room, he mumbled out one more sentence.

"I hope you will get better soon. I believe we will need your strength more than ever in the days to come."

Bela looked at him curiously as she and Daniela waited for him outside. Neither of them commented on the hold-up. Ethan himself was quite content now. Despite the harsh words leveled against him, the man felt like he managed to finally get a proper read on all the Dimitrescu siblings. That was an important step forward for them to work as a real team, just like both Bela and Ethan wanted.

In high spirits now, the man couldn't help but make a playful, friendly dig at the redhead.

"Cute slippers, Red."

Daniela blushed, embarrassed and shuffled her foot around. Her voice was just as playful, though.

"The floor is cold! I'll return them later...maybe. They are very comfortable."

Ethan gave a chuckle at that. He had to admit that the youngest Dimitrescu was unbelievably cute herself at the moment. Being a lone child, the man found himself wondering how it would feel to have a younger sibling like her around all the time. He figured the redhead could be exasperating at times, but the sheer joy she carried around herself like a cloak was infectious. Ethan, surprising himself, realized that he wouldn't have minded having a little sister like that himself, minus that whole man-eating feral beast thing, of course...

Ethan found himself lost in a daydream, all of a sudden. The possibilities of a bright future took over his mind. The man gave the siblings the biggest grin he ever did and spoke, in a dreamy voice.

"Perhaps, once we are all done with this mess, we could all go on a camping trip together. Just you three, your mom, me, Mia and Rosie. And we could all just enjoy beautiful nature in all of its splendor and have no worries about the future. What do you girls think?"

Daniela was clearly mesmerized by the idea, and her artistic mind quickly started on painting the mental picture. She nodded vigorously, as Bela spoke for them both.

"I think that sounds lovely, Ethan. And all we need to do to make that dream a reality is to bring back our loved ones."

Ethan felt almost lovestruck as the beautiful blonde woman was giving him her trademark serene smile. A peculiar thought ran through his head.

How fortunate I am to catch a glimpse behind these girls' shells… Despite their monstrous origins, all of them have such beautiful, unique souls. Even Cassandra does, in her own way.

Bela amber orbs sparked with seriousness next, as she spoke.

"We should visit the bridge now. I think you both would like to know where we are headed next. The Duke found some clues."

As the trio headed for the ship's command center, Ethan felt unburdened and his spirit uplifted. They might be up against overwhelming odds, but the man still believed that everything would be alright, in the end. He hummed as he thought about his previous camping idea.

"Maybe we could also invite Chris for our little camping trip, so I don't feel that terribly outnumbered by myself."

Bela clicked her tongue at that. After everything, she wasn't quick to trust unfamiliar people.

"Chris?"

"Chris Redfield. He is a bit rough around the edges, but he is a good man, with a golden heart. I am sure you girls would get along just great with him. Maybe he will even agree to a friendly spar with Cassandra."

Daniela gasped at that, almost in horror. Bela giggled at that reaction, before commenting, in a playful tone of her own.

"I see our resident glutton for punishment has similarly masochistically-inclined friends. I can't wait to meet him, already."

Ethan smirked, before replying, in a half-serious voice.

"I wouldn't discount Chris that easily, actually. That man is a monster in his own right. I trained a lot with him, and I could never beat him in unarmed combat, not even close. Perhaps he could give even Cassandra a run for her money."

Daniela looked astounded from that simple description. She quipped quietly.

"That would be a sight to see! But, I don't think Cassi's pride would be able to take that blow…"

Bela hummed as they reached the bridge.

"Indeed."

As the trio entered the command center, they immediately spotted Duke's colossal but well-groomed frame, next to a large map. Millie stood at his side, ever loyal, her hands behind her back.

The Duke was quick to welcome them, raising his massive hands in a warm greeting, as he spoke in his typical jolly voice.

"Ah, friends, thank you for joining me today. It's a great pity that Miss Cassandra is still bedridden, but I do hope she will recover soon. A spirit as fierce as hers is not meant to be chained to a hospital bed, after all."

Everyone agreed with that sentiment, even Ethan. Bela moved to take her spot at the huge man's side, clearly she was in the know already. Millie was the one who spoke next, however.

"The treasure trove of data we recovered from that island facility has revealed a great deal to us, Mister Winters, Miss Daniela."

Both of them only nodded. Everyone was listening intently, interested in what the shorter woman had to say. She cleared her throat and continued, still holding her hands behind her back.

"Unfortunately, the administrator Miss Bela...questioned was not privy to information regarding Lady Dimitrescu's plane's exact flight plan, yet he provided us with a radar readout that clearly indicated its direction. Combined with our careful combing through the unrelated points of interests, we were able to triangulate the location of what is likely a regional HQ of The Connections, directly in the path of that plane. While it is unlikely that Lady Dimitrescu is being held right there, chances are good that the research facility we are after is somewhere nearby."

The woman finally pointed her finger at the large geopolitical world map behind her.

Mauritania

Somehow Ethan wasn't surprised that the last country in the world where the concept of slavery was widely accepted also happened to host their foe's regional HQ as well as a highly unethical R&D facility. Bela's neutral voice didn't let him ponder too much on that, however.

"That HQ is only ten miles away from a small port town here." Her delicate finger pointed to the tiny town in question. "We and the armsmen will disembark by motorboats, and the Duke was gracious enough to arrange ground transportation, already. Some local mercs will also assist us in taking over that HQ, and from that, we will go directly towards the R&D facility, hopefully before the scum will have the time to evacuate."

Ethan couldn't help the shiver from running throughout his body from how she hissed out that term of address. Somehow, the gentle and loving sister morphed into a ruthless predator, out to hunt down those who had wronged her family. She would show no mercy, this time.

The Duke was the one who spoke next, his words somber but hopeful.

"I do truly hope that either the regional headquarters or the research facility will have some information about your own wife's whereabouts, as well, Mister Winters."

Ethan could only share the sentiment.

"Me too…"

Millie finished the small briefing.

"We will reach our destination in four days, and I suggest everyone prepares as best as they can. We have no solid intel about the enemy's combat capabilities or their level of awareness about our own plans and movement. We are going in blind, and normally I would oppose an operation like this, but…"

The Duke looked at her harshly, making the small woman fall silent. He spoke himself, with an air of finality in his voice. Somehow, everyone kept forgetting that the jolly rotund man was the boss around here.

"Our armsmen are well-equipped and trained. The local mercenaries whose services I contracted are also no push-overs. Not to mention our dear passengers here, who would not stop in the pursuit of their loved ones even if armies of Hell themselves arrayed against them. I will learn what I can meanwhile, but we proceed with this plan. Hesitation or delays are unacceptable, not when we are up against a global crime syndicate with a hundred times as much resources as what we have ourselves. We can't give them time to prepare for us. This will be all."

They were getting close and tension was in the air after the loaded briefing. Predictably, nobody felt in the mood for small talk, and Daniela promptly left, her stomach rumbling in hunger. Bela stayed behind, talking over some issues with Millie and Ethan himself decided to go back to Rosie.

Before he could vacate the bridge, a pair of strong hands rotated him around effortlessly and a moment later he felt soft, warm lips press down on his forehead. The heavenly sensation lingered for a few moments, even as the golden-haired woman lowered the soles of her shoes back to the floor. Their eye-levels were even, as Bela stood inches from his own face, once again making the heat creep towards Ethan's face.

"What was that for?"

Ethan's tone was sheepish, as the gesture was so unexpected. Her amber orbs stared into his own gray eyes with undisguised affection. Her voice sounded so very lovely to Ethan's ears.

"To show my appreciation. For everything you did for us. It will probably take some convincing for Cassandra and mother, but as far as I am concerned, you're family already, Ethan. I will be looking forward to that camping trip."

Before he could stammer anything out, the woman was already gone, back to Millie's side, who herself looked shocked at the intimate gesture. Bela gave him a playful wink as he kept staring.

Ethan stood still for a few moments, before finally walking out, giving one last glance, full of affection, at the blonde woman, who returned it with one of her own eagerly.

"Family, huh?"

Santiago Escobar observed with folded arms as his lieutenants consulted the electronic map and tactical readouts. Walking across the cargo plane their employers so gracefully provided, the man snorted in annoyance as his harsh, cold blue eyes fell upon the planning board, with photograph of their targets affixed to it. He will personally cross them out, once the job was done.

Looking back at the men in their seats, the commander couldn't help but give a toothy grin that promised nothing but pain to his foes. Thirty of his finest, hand-picked warriors, ready to bring the flames of purity upon the filthy mutants who had slain his brother. The paycheck was just a bonus, to him. A very welcome bonus, nevertheless. The organization doubled the reward for Dimitrescu sisters. The bug-sluts must have done something to annoy them. That thought made the towering man let out a hearty chuckle.

In truth, Santiago absolutely loathed The Connections. He was fine with taking the money from the vile bioweapon producers, but few knew that he was just biding his time, collecting evidence. Eventually, he aimed to topple them down, as well. Their kind had no place on his planet.

His most trusted lieutenant and personal advisor - Carl Schultz, took the commander out of his musings with his somewhat nasal voice.

"Nightcrawler will not be happy about this change of plans, you know that, right sir?"

The powerful warlord scoffed at that. His voice was grim but resolute.

"That coward said so himself, he only cares about the targets dying. I will make him eat these words. We move as planned. Ambush them right at that insignificant port town. Civilian casualties are acceptable. I am not sitting in that facility, with thumbs up my ass while that midget bitch is lurking around."

The smaller man tried once more to impress the idea of cooperation on his commander, though he knew it was in vain. Santiago was a nefarious human purist and the very notion of working directly with a 'mutant' was deeply offensive to him. Especially after the last time they worked together.

"Perhaps, if we just coordinate our efforts with Miss Styx, we could avoid all the unpleasantness? We don't have to work directly with her…"

The commander was less than impressed.

"That's not happening. Unless that whore herself comes crawling before me, while offering sincere apologies and reimbursement for killing two of my men on the last job we did together, the standing orders are to shoot that cunt on sight. Dimitrescu and Winters are my prey, and if that little shit tries to intrude on my hunt, all the better. One more filthy freak wiped off the face of Earth."

The bespectacled officer couldn't suppress a gulp. Styx was infamous for her 98% success rate; her reputation was that of inhuman brutality and utter mercilessness, with callous disregard for collateral damage on top. Going against her directly like that was not a prospect he was looking towards. Still, defying a mountain of muscles in his face right now was something he wanted to do even less. Giving a resigned nod, the logistics officer backed down. He could only hope that their own snipers were up to the task of not only taking down the targets of their contract, but also the elusive assassin.

Author's Note:

Maybe I should rename this work into "Dimitrescu Daughters Psychotherapy Sessions." Hope I didn't bore you too much with it :/

Anyway, now that the pieces are in position, the next 2-3 chapters will be violence and blood fest with what I hope to be an unexpected and shocking twist. And drama, since we haven't had much of that so far. So lot's of drama. What I am not sure about, is should I write one very big chapter (that will naturally take longer to write), or keep to my usual ~5k words? Any thoughts on that are appreciated.

As always, thanks for reading and hope you've enjoyed the chapter!